Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. – Joel A. Barker

“Vision, mission, purpose, values, performance” are all words that are often used in business and leadership. Most organisations have these developed and documented. They are displayed on websites, posters, and other marketing materials. But what does it mean? Why is it important to develop, embed, and link these concepts in your organisation?

What?

To build the understanding of the importance of these matters, we need to understand the meaning of them and how they differ.

Vision and a vision statement deals with the future and the aspirations of the organisation. Where the organisation wants to go and the impact it will have on the world.

Mission and a mission statement describe the current purpose and objectives of the organisation. What the goals and values of the organisation are to reach these objectives?

Purpose gives the reason for the organisation’s existence. What are the products or services offered and for whom. The purpose forms part of the mission statement.

Values state what the organisation stands for. Core values are normally what motivates and drives the why of the organisation.

Simply put this means that vision is the destination of the organisation with the mission as the map. Strategies provide various routes to get there, and values are the GPS to keep us on course.

Vision is a destination – a fixed point to which we focus all effort. Strategy is a route – an adaptable path to get us where we want to go. – Simon Sinek

Why?

Given that the vision and mission statements communicate the purpose and direction of the organisation; their importance is very clear.

Vision and mission:

• gives direction to leadership,
• inspires staff,
• attracts clients and investors/funders,
• and guides decision-making.

As Joel Barker so aptly said; vision needs actions. This is the link to performance.

Having a clear vision and mission is crucial for a successful performance process. Leadership needs to identify a small number of strategic goals. These elements then provide the guidelines for goalsetting for leaders, managers, and employees.

This naturally aligns performance with vision. The two are interdependent. If you think about athletes, you cannot win the race unless you know the route.

How?

To know the effectiveness of performance, there needs to be measurement. The most important measurement is how successful the organisation is in reaching its vision.

Did we do what we set out to do?

Success can therefore be defined as the impact achieved against the goals set out to achieve. For-profit organisations are normally measured by Return on Investment (ROI). Non-profit organisations measure Return on an Impact.

The measurement of ROI should be defined to include more than just a numerical result. Measuring the performance against vision and mission can include measures such as:

• financial results
• customer satisfaction
• employee engagement
• social investments

Some of these measures can be very subjective. Other factors that one can consider when measuring the vision and mission are:

The vision and mission can be so clearly defined that progress can easily be measured. For example, Google’s vision is “to provide access to the world’s information in one click” and the mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Various measures can be easily identified from the vision.

There is a clear link between the vision and mission and the organisation’s products or services. Setting clear goals and measurements for the products and services can assist in measuring progress towards the vision.

Measuring the effectiveness of internal and external processes can assist in the measurement of the vision and mission.

Measuring the optimal use of the organisation’s resources will show the performance of the organisation against the vision.

A clear vision and mission with measurements to show progress used in isolation are not sufficient for success. Frequent communication on the vision, mission, values, and goals, together with the alignment with the goals and objectives of individuals on all levels of the organisation is needed.

As Alvin Toffler said

You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction.