Mission, Vision, & Values: Explained | Business + Corporate Strategy Course

Consultport

30 Sept 202103:55

Summary

TLDRThe video script discusses the importance of having a clear vision, mission, and values for a company. It explains that a vision statement provides a long-term goal and purpose, using Microsoft's 'a computer on every desk and in every home' as an example. The mission statement, in contrast, outlines the actions needed to achieve the vision, with Amazon and LinkedIn's statements highlighting their customer-centric and professional connectivity goals, respectively. Lastly, the script emphasizes the need for values to guide company culture and operations, although it does not delve into specifics in this excerpt.

Takeaways

📈 **Vision**: A company's vision is a concrete description of its long-term goals and aspirations, providing a clear direction for stakeholders and employees.
💡 **Vision Statement**: A brief and concise statement that summarizes the company's vision, such as Microsoft's 'a computer on every desk and in every home'.
🔍 **Alignment**: Having a vision helps align everyone in the company towards a common goal and gives purpose to their work.
🤔 **Defining Vision**: Companies often engage in brainstorming sessions to define their vision statement, emphasizing brevity.
🌐 **Amazon's Vision**: To be 'earth's most customer-centric company where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online'.
🤝 **LinkedIn's Vision**: To 'create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce'.
🏋️‍♂️ **Mission**: The mission statement outlines the actions and work required to achieve the company's vision.
📝 **Difference**: The vision statement describes the desired future state of the company, while the mission describes the steps to realize that vision.
🛒 **Amazon's Mission**: To 'continually raise the bar of the customer experience by using the internet and technology'.
🌟 **LinkedIn's Mission**: To 'connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful'.
🔗 **Values**: The final element discussed, which likely refers to the principles and beliefs that guide a company's actions and decisions (not explicitly detailed in the transcript).
🔄 **Comparison**: LinkedIn's mission directly supports its vision by focusing on connecting professionals to create opportunities.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of a company's vision statement?
-A company's vision statement provides a concrete way for stakeholders, especially employees, to understand the meaning and purpose of the business. It describes the desired long-term results of the company's efforts and helps align everyone to head in the right direction.
Can you give an example of an early vision statement from Microsoft?
-An early Microsoft vision statement was 'A computer on every desk, and in every home.' This revealed what the organization most hoped to be and achieve in the long term.
What is the significance of brevity in creating a vision statement?
-Brevity is key in creating a vision statement because the goal is to encapsulate the company's vision in a brief and concise way, making it easy to remember and communicate.
What is Amazon's vision statement according to the script?
-Amazon's vision statement is 'To be earth's most customer-centric company where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.'
How does LinkedIn's vision statement differ from its mission statement?
-LinkedIn's vision statement is to 'Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.' In contrast, its mission statement focuses on 'Connecting the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful,' indicating the actions needed to achieve the vision.
What is the main difference between a company's vision and its mission?
-The vision statement describes where the company wants to take itself, while the mission statement describes what needs to be done to turn that vision into reality.
What is the importance of having a clear mission statement for a company?
-A clear mission statement is important as it outlines the actions and efforts required to achieve the company's vision, providing a roadmap for the organization's activities and goals.
How does Amazon's mission statement reflect its vision of being customer-centric?
-Amazon's mission statement, 'To continually raise the bar of the customer experience by using the internet and technology to help consumers find, discover, and buy anything, and empower businesses and content creators to maximize their success,' directly reflects its vision by focusing on improving customer experience and utilizing technology for customer benefit.
What does LinkedIn's mission statement reveal about its approach to achieving its vision?
-LinkedIn's mission statement reveals that it plans to achieve its vision of creating opportunities for professionals around the world by 'connecting professionals with each other,' emphasizing the platform's role in fostering professional connections.
Why is it crucial for a company to have a set of values?
-While the script does not explicitly discuss values, it is generally understood that a company's values are crucial as they guide the behavior and decision-making of the organization, ensuring consistency with the company's vision and mission.
How can a company ensure that its vision, mission, and values are well-aligned and understood by all stakeholders?
-A company can ensure alignment and understanding by clearly communicating these elements, involving stakeholders in their development, and regularly revisiting and reinforcing them through company culture and strategic planning.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Establishing a Company Vision

The first paragraph introduces the importance of having a clear vision for a company. It discusses how a formulated vision helps stakeholders, particularly employees, understand the purpose and meaning of the business. The paragraph provides an example of Microsoft's early vision statement, which was to have a computer in every home and on every desk. It emphasizes the role of a vision in aligning everyone towards a common direction and giving purpose to their work. The paragraph also suggests that a vision statement should be brief and concise, and provides examples from Amazon and LinkedIn, highlighting their respective visions to be customer-centric and to create economic opportunities for the global workforce.

🛠 Defining a Company's Mission

The second paragraph delves into the concept of a company's mission, distinguishing it from its vision. While the vision is about envisioning the future, the mission is about the practical steps needed to achieve that vision. The paragraph explains that a mission statement should be short and to the point, and it uses Amazon and LinkedIn as examples again, detailing their missions to improve customer experience through technology and to connect professionals worldwide, respectively. The summary also compares LinkedIn's mission with its vision, showing how the mission supports the realization of the vision.

🏆 The Role of Company Values

The final paragraph, although not fully provided in the input, would likely continue the discussion on the importance of company values. Values are the principles and beliefs that guide a company's actions and decisions. They are essential for maintaining a strong company culture and ensuring that all stakeholders act in accordance with the organization's goals. The paragraph would probably provide insights into how values complement the vision and mission, and possibly offer examples of companies with strong value statements that contribute to their success.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Vision

Vision in the context of a company refers to a formulated, long-term view of what the organization aspires to be. It provides a concrete direction and purpose for employees and stakeholders. In the video, vision is discussed as a critical element that helps align everyone in the company towards a common goal. For instance, Microsoft's early vision was 'a computer on every desk and in every home,' illustrating a clear and ambitious future state for the company.

💡Mission

Mission is the statement that outlines the purpose of a company and what it aims to achieve in the present. It's the day-to-day actions and efforts required to fulfill the vision. The video emphasizes the distinction between vision and mission, with the mission being the practical steps to realize the envisioned future. Amazon's mission, as given in the script, is to 'continually raise the bar of the customer experience by using the internet and technology,' which directly supports its vision to be customer-centric.

💡Values

Values are the core beliefs and principles that guide an organization's actions and decision-making. They are essential in shaping the company culture and ensuring consistency in behavior. Although not explicitly defined in the script, values are implied as the foundation upon which both vision and mission are built, influencing the company's approach to achieving its goals.

💡Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who have an interest or a stake in the organization. In the video, stakeholders are mentioned in relation to the vision, indicating that a clear vision is crucial for aligning the interests and expectations of all parties involved with the company, including employees, investors, and customers.

💡Alignment

Alignment in the context of the video refers to the process of ensuring that all members of an organization are working towards the same objectives. A clear vision helps in achieving alignment by providing a unified direction. The script mentions that having a vision in business will help 'align everyone to head in the right direction,' highlighting its importance in guiding collective efforts.

💡Brevity

Brevity is the quality of being concise and avoiding unnecessary details. The video script stresses the importance of brevity when defining a company's vision statement, suggesting that it should be brief and to the point. This is exemplified by the script's advice to write a 'vision statement, not a vision paragraph,' emphasizing clarity and simplicity.

💡Customer-Centric

Customer-centricity is a business philosophy that prioritizes customer needs and satisfaction above all else. In the video, Amazon's vision is described as being 'earth's most customer-centric company,' which means that their primary focus is on meeting and exceeding customer expectations in everything they do.

💡Economic Opportunity

Economic opportunity refers to the availability of potential for financial gain or professional advancement. LinkedIn's vision, as mentioned in the script, is to 'create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce,' indicating their commitment to facilitating professional growth and financial success for their users.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency with which an individual or organization accomplishes tasks and goals. LinkedIn's mission, as stated in the script, is to 'connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful.' This suggests that by fostering connections, LinkedIn aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of professionals worldwide.

💡Professionals

In the script, professionals are individuals engaged in a specified occupation or field. LinkedIn's vision and mission statements both focus on professionals, with the aim of creating opportunities and connecting them globally. This highlights the platform's dedication to serving the needs of professionals as a key part of its business strategy.

Highlights

There is a constant discussion among management and employees about the company's direction.

A lack of clear and common vision, mission, and values is often the root cause of such discussions.

This module will discuss vision, mission, and values, and their interrelation.

A formulated vision provides a concrete way for stakeholders to understand the meaning and purpose of a business.

The vision describes the desired long-term results of the company's efforts.

An example of a vision statement: Microsoft's early vision was 'a computer on every desk and in every home.'

A company vision statement reveals at the highest level what an organization hopes to be and achieve long-term.

Having a vision helps align everyone in the company and gives purpose to their work.

Companies often brainstorm to come up with a brief and concise vision statement.

Examples of well-written vision statements: Amazon's is 'to be Earth's most customer-centric company.'

LinkedIn's vision is 'to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.'

The mission statement describes what needs to be done to turn the vision into reality.

A mission statement, like a vision statement, needs to be short and to the point.

Amazon's mission statement: 'To continually raise the bar of the customer experience.'

LinkedIn's mission statement: 'Connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful.'

The mission statement explains the actions needed to achieve the vision.