While most companies have mission, vision and value statements, few companies place these statements at the center of everything they do. Even fewer make these statements the driving force behind their present activities or their initiatives for the future.

Alignment is necessary if you are serious about reaching the high goals expressed in your mission and vision. Your mission and vision must not only be well-defined, but you need a process in place to close your mission gap and vision gap. What are these gaps? To clarify, let’s take a closer look at the definition of mission and vision.

Mission and vision

We define mission as the reason for existence. Your mission is the motivating force behind what you do. Your mission is your purpose. A worthwhile mission is one that serves others. Your vision, however, is the picture of your success in the future. It is the picture of success five to ten years out. Imagine it’s ten years from now, and you have succeeded in delivering your mission, what would that success look like? How would you describe it? Mission and vision each have an important yet distinct role to play.

We have often seen mission and vision statements that are overlapping. There is no need to state how successful you want to be in the mission statement, and there is no need to state what your business does in the vision statement. Both statements of mission and vision should be clear and inspiring for the workforce. Their value lies in their clarity and their ability to motivate your people.

Read more at There's a Difference Between Your Company's Vision and Its Mission. Here's How to Achieve Them Both.