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Most modern firms now consider the careful conceptualization and statement of a firm’s mission and vision to be a crucial first step or, at a minimum, an essential component in the firm’s broader strategic management process. Typically, these concepts arise from a group process and often take form with the assistance of an outside consultant provided during a resort retreat for firm executives and top-level managers; though many experts advise that the conceptualization process include, as well, input from key staff members at various organizational levels to ensure that all relevant views have been considered. Once crafted, a firm’s mission and vision statements play an essential role, acting as cornerstones that establish, communicate, and help prioritize the direction and boundaries for firm operations. For mature firms, these statements can further serve to help firm management gauge firm success and periodically determine when changes to firm strategy, or perhaps broader revision or reconceptualization of the firm’s mission and vision, are necessary to better align the firm with the relevant operational and competitive environments.

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Although the nature and purpose of the “mission” and “vision” of a firm are often conflated, the distinctions can be important. The mission statement attempts to briefly describe—for firm managers, staff, customers, investors and other stakeholders, and even competitors—the firm’s particular business and purpose for existence. Armed with such a clear statement of purpose and operational scope, the firm is more likely to achieve, and can more easily gauge its progress toward the achievement of clear and realistic business objectives. The exposition of the firm’s mission is intended to act as an essential guide for the behavior of firm executives and managers, answering questions like: Who are we? Who are our customers? What are our operating philosophy (basic beliefs, values, ethics, etc.), our core competencies or competitive advantages, and our responsibilities with respect to being a good steward of our human, financial, and environmental resources? The mission statement is typically no more than a paragraph in length, and may be very brief indeed, as well demonstrated by Boeing’s current concise mission statement: “People working together as a global enterprise for aerospace leadership.” According to some management experts, the mission should fit on a T-Shirt.

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In addition to a sophisticated understanding of its purpose and operative boundaries, every firm needs to know its vision for the future, both where it is going and whether and when it has arrived. In contrast to the firm’s “mission,” a firm’s vision ought to answer the question: What do we want to become, thereby providing a description of the desired future state toward which firm management aspires. Common pitfalls occur when purported “vision” statements constitute little more than ineffectual bromides, and where firm’s view their vision statement as a mere project or initiative that, once completed, plays little role in future firm strategy, planning, communication, and training. Hence, it is essential that the statement of vision be not only future-oriented, but realistic, attainable, value-driven and inspirational. The vision must be easily understood by all staff members since they are the ones that must work in unison, in a common direction toward the fulfillment of firm aspirations. In addition, the vision should help separate the firm from its competitors, provide lasting challenges to firm staff, and help establish a focal point that the team can rally around. Of course, though the vision statement ought to be specific to the particular firm, is must not be so detailed as to lose its timeless nature. As an example, Amazon’s vision statement—“to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online”—paints a clear picture for staff, customers, shareholders, suppliers, and competitors as to the firm’s goal to continue its movement well beyond book sales to become a leading, consumer-friendly online source for just about any consumer product.  On the other hand, the brief statement of the firm’s vision must not be so nebulous that it loses any value to pull the particular firm into the future.

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