Creating the Company Vision: A Guide to Achieving the Mission
- Zoran Vidovic
- Nov 16, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 29, 2024
We have our company mission, and now we are navigating the path of success. We got it all figured out. Or have we?
If we do not have a plan how to achieve the company mission, then our company mission is just going to be a mission statement on paper and not in reality.
To achieve it, we need to have a clear vision of how to get there with a clear timeframe.
What is the company's vision?
If the mission is an ultimate goal we want to reach with our company, then the vision is the plan for achieving it in a set timeframe utilizing selected processes and resources.
It is the path to achieving the set mission, and it needs to complement the same values set in the mission.
We need to understand that the vision is going to set the direction for the company and dictate its processes, equipment, standards, compliance, and training requirements.
Obviously, if we decide to be an environmentally friendly company, we will need to live up to that standard and adopt all required standards to achieve it. This is not a simple task, as it will require a greater financial burden than our competitors have without such dedication.
How to create a company vision?
We have already decided on our company mission, and to do so, we had to go through the brainstorming process of idea generation and refining. This process had us settled on the desired goal we aim to achieve with our company, which became our mission. It has also revealed key elements we need to have to reach that goal and achieve our set mission. That is going to be our guide in creating our vision.
During the brainstorming process, we explored the market, competitors, products and services, processes, ideas, and equipment utilized by our competitors and decided we could do it all better.
Now it is time to analyze how we plan to do it better than the rest. Now it is time to set the path to reaching our goal.
Our mission:
"We are dedicated to delivering organic, fresh food from local farmers to our community in a day. Our mission is to elevate human health through sustainable, organic, locally sourced farming. From local farm to your table, as we are committed to preserving both your health and our environment."
So, we plan to bring fresh, organic, sustainable food from local farmers to our community. Sounds noble and simple. But is it really that simple?
The question is: how many organic and sustainable local farms are there in our community, if any? If not, are we going to look outside of our community? Are we going to look for the opportunity to partner with local farmers and have them board our mission to become organic and sustainable farmers? If so, how much time and resources is that going to take?
How big of an area do we consider to be our community? Is it a county, a state, or a continent?
What is our community to begin with? What are the demographics? Which purchasing power does it have?
At what price are we going to offer the products? Is that price going to allow for profitable and sustainable production for our farmers?
How are we going to bring the product to our community, especially if they are in distant areas? Are we going to bring the products to the table ourselves, or are we going to partner up and outsource that segment? If we are going to outsource, then are we going to do it to selected companies that are able and willing to conduct business in line with our dedication to preserving the environment? If so, is it going to narrow down the list of companies we can do business with? Is it going to increase the price of the final product and subsequently change the demographics of our customers?
How are we going to minimize environmental impact during the process? By committing to selected agricultural and transformational processes that are in line with the dedication to preserve the environment?
How are we going to control the process of production and delivery of our products to maintain the quality assurance and the set mission of sustainable and organic food delivery in a single day? How many human resources is that going to take, and can we afford it at this stage?
These are some of the questions and obstacles we need to tackle before we get our vision polished.
Why is this an important step?
Because if we manage to find solutions to all the presented challenges and decide our vision is achievable, we then set directions of honesty and transparency. It will serve as a testimony of ingenuity and integrity in the eyes of our employees, partners, and consumers. Obviously only if we stay in line with the set mission and vision and do not bend it to fit our unrealistic goals, as that is going to result in resentment and loss of trust.
How?
By setting a realistic and achievable vision that is not set in current trends or wishful thinking but rather in reality. This prevents misleading and fraudulent practices from creeping into our operation in the desire to achieve the set unrealistic mission and vision.
So, setting a company vision is an important process, as it will direct our focus, investments, operational organization, and future development in line with it.
Our vision:
"We are going to become a leading bridge between local organic farms and our community by 2035. We will transform the food supply and bring to life our vision of healthy, organic, and sustainable food in every household."
How to stay in line with the company vision?
We have discovered how elaborate the process of setting the company's mission and vision is. The vision will direct our operation and future investments if we want to stay true to it.
Staying in line with the company vision is imperative, as it gives direction to the company and serves as a path to success. This, however, is dependent on how realistic the vision is, as we might have set the goal poll so high that our attempt to achieve it might jeopardize our company.
This can happen in two ways:
Attempting to achieve the set vision in an unrealistic time frame.
This is not uncommon, as we might become impatient in our pursuit of our goal. This might warrant taking shortcuts and rushed decisions without obtaining the relevant information from relevant sources.
It could also result in us ignoring facts and deciding on actions with a twisted perception of reality to accommodate our desired speed of reaching the set goal.
It could also warrant turning a blind eye to our commitment to our consumers, employees, and partners, as it was not realistic and achievable in the desired time frame.
Attempting to achieve the unrealistic vision.
If our vision is unrealistic, as it was set not in facts but rather in wishful thinking fueled by arrogance or ignorance, then we will have a cold shower sooner than later.
We might resort to unethical and fraudulent behavior in pursuit of achieving the set vision, or perception of it, in the hope we maintain the trust of our consumers, employees, and partners.
How to prevent this?
We need to set a realistic mission and vision to be able to achieve it, and we should remove "pink glasses" when analyzing market trends, consumer needs, and available resources and approaches to achieving it.
We need to align all elements of a company with our mission and vision to support it and create a company culture fostering ingenuity in our pursuit of positive change and development in achieving set goals.