2011, The Year of Success
Your Vision, Your Mission for 2011!
2011. A new year, a new start. Time to take stock. What is your enterprise and where are you heading?
Successful leaders use Vision Statements and Mission Statements to define the purpose of their enterprises and the direction they are heading. Mission Statements can also be used by individuals for career purposes. Find out how to make 2011 your year, a year of success.
If you already have these statements, you can use them as a powerful tool for reflection and analysis. Skip to the end of this article where I will give you some ways of using your Vision and Mission Statements. I’m now going to give some hints on creating your own.
Remember Mission Statements and Vision Statements have two distinctly different jobs.
A Mission Statement defines the fundamental purpose of your enterprise and its primary objectives. What do you do, who do you do it for and how and why you do it. Purpose, business and values, all encapsulated into a few sentences.
A Vision Statement defines what the enterprise wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. An ideal future. It answers the question, "what impact do we want to have on society?" Vision is the most powerful motivator. If it's vivid and meaningful enough, people can do astonishing things to bring it to realisation. So, Vision Statements guide an enterprise into the future while Mission Statements are a reflection of the present.
Which one shall I write first?
If your enterprise is young, or you want to rethink what you do, start with your vision and then work back to your mission. If you have a Mission Statement already, then let that guide the writing of your Vision Statement. Use your team to brainstorm the writing of the statements to ensure commitment.
Creating a Vision Statement
Write your Vision Statement in the present tense, as if it has already happened. Infuse your Vision Statement with passion and paint a graphic mental picture of the business you want. You’re aiming for a statement that will create enthusiasm and pose a challenge that inspires and engages you and your team. Use these questions:
- What will your enterprise look like in the future, at least five to ten years from now?
- Dream big and focus on success. What is the mountaintop of where your enterprise is headed?
Creating a Mission Statement
Use the answers to the following three questions:
- What opportunities or needs does your enterprise address?
- What does your enterprise do to address those needs? (what do you do and who do you do it for) and
- What principles and values guide your enterprise? (how and why you do it)
Examples of Vision and Mission Statements:
Coca Cola begins ‘To refresh the world…”
Henry Ford ‘to democratise the automobile’
Both big visions. I’m not sure when either were written - I suspect they didn’t realise the success they would have.
Using your Mission and Vision Statements for reviewing and planning
Firstly, look back at 2010
- What went well? What were your successes?
- What went badly? What were your failures?
- How did you stay true to your mission and your vision? Where did you stray?
- And what is the learning?
Secondly look forward to 2011
- Looking at your overall Vision Statement, break it down one year. Where do you want to be by December 2011?
- What are the priorities for the year ahead?
- What changes do you need to make to move forward?
- As a leader, who are you becoming? Who do you want to become?
Article written by Rosalyn Clare, Striding Out, Business, Career & Youth Coach
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