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Thoughts About Vision (Part 4)

Posted on December 9, 2015 by James Scouller

Yesterday we looked at part 3, Profile of an Effective Vision. Today we look at the final part: the Difference Between Mission and Vision.

Others have their own definitions and I’m not going to argue with them. Instead, I’ll simply offer mine.

For me, an organisation’s mission is its raison d’etre, its reason for being, its purpose.

Whereas its vision is the distinctive way it has chosen to achieve that mission.

It’s as simple as that.

So for example, consider the two celebrated 19^th century European painters, Van Gogh and Monet. You could say they both had the same mission – to paint paintings – but their visions of what those paintings should express differed. Similarly, you may have two pharmaceutical companies with identical missions, serving the same therapeutic areas, but they might have different visions as to how they will go about their work.

Occasionally, a mission statement is as motivating and inspiring as a vision statement. A great example would be NASA’s mission in the 1960s to land a man on the moon and return him safely before the end of the decade. But in general I’ve found that mission statements are more factual and vision statements – if they’re any good – are more inspiring.

I hope this short series has helped.

The author is James Scouller, an executive coach. His book, The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Knowhow and Skill, was published in May 2011. You can learn more about it at www.three-levels-of-leadership.com. If you want to see its reviews, click here: leadership book reviews. If you want to know where to buy it, click HERE. You can read more about his executive coaching services at The Scouller Partnership’s website.

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