Allison Harper

Vision and mission statements are useful to companies and organizations, but they are every bit as important to individuals. They are especially helpful to those looking for new employment opportunities. Such statements help clarify goals and can ultimately help you make decisions.  It might take some time to brainstorm and craft them, but doing so can make a real difference, both personally and professionally.

Put simply, your vision is where you hope to get far down the road. It’s a goal that inspires you to give your best and keep heading in that direction. It stays consistent, even if the methods or routes change. One example of an organization’s vision statement would be The American Cancer Society’s: “Our vision is a world free of cancer.”

Your mission, on the other hand, is what you do to make that vision a reality. It deals with now and the near future. It is what you do, and for what purpose. For example: “The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.” Think of it as your personal ‘elevator speech,’ what you say to people who ask, “So what do you do?”

As I’ve written in a previous post, helping people find meaningful employment is a mission for me, and it happens to be in line with the mission of my company. Being clear about what your vision and mission are can help ensure that your career and personal life are similarly in sync. Not having a clearly defined vision and mission can waste a great deal of time and energy. You must align the ultimate goal and direction with the steps you’re taking, or you can end up far off course.

If you’re looking for a job or hoping to make a change, it’s even more important to spend some time thinking about your vision and mission. In order to be convincing to a potential employer about what you want, you have to be clear. You might be an expert in welding or in wordsmithing, but you’d also better be an expert on yourself. You’re the only one who can be.

When I consider hiring someone, I don’t just want to know what her credentials are or what skills she has mastered. I want to know what motivates her and whether she will be aligned with the company’s needs. For example, if I were the owner of a chain of restaurants, it wouldn’t do much good to hire a chef who was more interested in improvising than developing a menu that could be replicated. The most talented chef in the world does me no good if other cooks in my other locations can’t make it without him. There’s nothing wrong with such a creative chef; his vision simply doesn’t line up with my mine. It’s vital, therefore, for me to know my vision and for him to know his. If he understands that his vision is to innovate and push the boundaries of creativity with food, then he might not be a good fit for my restaurant. He’d be better off looking for a position at one of those restaurants where they squirt food into foam on your plate.

In terms of crafting a vision for my hypothetical restaurant, my statement might be, “My vision is to bring families together over great meals.” My mission might be, “Provide a delicious menu of wholesome foods for lunch and dinner that parents and kids enjoy at multiple locations. Balance innovation with reliability so that diners know they will have a quality experience regardless of which of my restaurants they patronize.”

The chef’s personal vision, on the other hand, might be, “To excite and inspire others through the world’s most creative food.” His mission might be, “I prepare innovative and original meals for pop-up restaurants that give diners a chance to experience something they’ve never tasted before and that they will talk about for a long time after.”

Being clear on these guiding factors can save time for companies and individuals.

So start brainstorming now. Get help from a trusted friend or advisor. Talk it out, write ideas on a white board. Write a paragraph and then get it as concise as possible. It might help to consider the following factors:

What are some things you’ve felt good about accomplishing?
What would you like to do more of in life (goals)?
How does family and personal life factor in?
What about the larger community and the world as a whole?
What are your core values and your beliefs for yourself and others?
How would you want someone to describe you in your eulogy? Such a speech might point to a few key successes, but chances are it would focus more on overall human qualities and contributions, like the way you got people to work together, or how you always made time for your kids.
While business leaders have to create vision statements that inspire others and engage them in shared goals, an individual needs to inspire him or herself. Whatever vision you come up with should motivate you with possibilities. It will stay relatively consistent, even as the mission changes. The chef can continue to inspire others through creative food, even if he gives up the restaurant scene and decides instead to travel the world and blog about unusual cultures and cuisines. Same vision, different mission.

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to think about your personal vision and mission, to spend time crafting those statements, and to remain open to the possibilities they can open up for you.