Tips for writing mission and vision statements

1. Identify important stakeholders to be part of the process (co-founders, fellow executives).
2. Start by listing keywords (i.e., youth, jobs, peace, migration).
3. Answer foundational organizational questions (i.e., What is our purpose? How do we want to make a difference?)
4. Sort your answers by importance. Refer back to your keywords to help prioritize.
5. Combine your prioritized answers and keywords in a paragraph.
6. Review to make sure your vision is realistic.
7. Refine for clarity.

You’re done! Next step is the mission statement.

1. Define your story. How do you usually explain what your organization does to other people?
2. Write down what your organization does well.
3. Make the statement realistic and coherent.
4. Keep the statement concise.
5. Think long-term. You can include what you plan to do in the future, which should align with your vision statement.
6. Keep an open mind about possibilities. You don’t want to be locked into a mission statement that is so specific that you can’t be flexible when new opportunities and challenges arise.
7. Discuss, review, refine.

You’re done!

If you are feeling uncertain about the difference between a mission and vision statement, check out What’s the difference between mission and vision statements.

Being clear about mission and vision helps organizations plan the way forward

Often mission and vision statements get written soon after an organization forms and then quickly forgotten. In fact, these two statements have a lot of value when it comes to strategic planning! You should review them regularly to see if your organization is operating in a way that aligns with the mission and vision you defined.

Let’s start by defining exactly what a mission statement and a vision statement are.

• A mission statement defines what line of business an organization is in, why it exists, or what purpose it serves. Every organization or association should have a precise statement of purpose that gets people excited and motivates them to join.
• A vision statement is your organization’s guiding beacon—the direction you plan to go in the future. Your vision statement defines your organization’s overall purpose and should define, in broad strokes, how you’re going to achieve your mission statement. In cases where your organization only has one statement, the vision statement is the second half, which touches on the “how we’ll get there.”

Vision statement

How you’re going to get there. Your vision statement should define, in extremely broad strokes, how you’re going to achieve your mission statement. In cases where an organization only has one statement, the vision statement is the second half, which touches on the “how we’ll get there.”

Mission statement

Your organization’s purpose. Why are you doing what you’re doing? In a perfect world, what problem are you solving? Mission statements tend to be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve—but that’s why they’re so inspiring. 

Both the vision and mission statements play an important role in an organization strategic planning:

• Define the purpose of an organization and instil a sense of belonging and identity in the members, which motivates them to work together to achieve success.
• Provide a clear and effective guide for making decisions about current and future positioning and opportunities. For example, if a partnership opportunity comes up but it doesn’t align with your mission and visions statements, that’s a good sign that it’s not the right fit.
• Help make decisions about how to use resources and what to prioritize. You should focus on putting resources toward the implementation of your mission, which moves you toward your vision.