Differences between a company’s mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision

The Business world today has a lot of Buzzwords that can be difficult to understand and differentiate if you are not into Business studies. The good thing is that most of these Buzzwords are productive and others are very useful in our day to day life. The most confusing thing in the Business world is when different or multiple words are used to convey related messages. Some words such as the company’s mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision are confusing to employees and managers alike. In this brief, we are going to lay down ten differences between the company’s mission statement and the concept of strategic vision.

So What is the Differences between a company’s mission statement and the concept of a strategic vision?

1. Definition

The first difference exists in the definition of the two statements. The concept of strategic vision in a company tends to outline where the company is headed and the values that will guide its journey. The company’s mission statement tends to tell people the reasons why the company exists and what they exist to do. It also states the objectives.

2. The company’s mission goes beyond the vision

Although the two words are closely related, the company’s mission statement goes beyond the vision of the company. What we are trying to insinuate here is that the company’s mission makes a clearer delineation of the company’s goals.

3. The company’s mission statement guides on how the company vision will be achieved

The vision as defined above is the place the company wants to be in two or three years. However, the company’s mission is an outline of all the things that will be done together with the company’s objectives to meet the vision.

4. The timeline

You will hear many experts telling you that the major difference between a vision and mission is the timeline. Although there can be an overlap between the two statements, the mission will talk about the things at hand while the vision will outline the things to be done at a future date.

5. The mission statement is what the company is doing right now.

Here is another difference because the mission is the actions that the company thinks of doing to reach their vision at a future date. In simple terms, the mission is what the company is currently doing while the vision is what the company wants to do another time.

6. The mission statement is a cohesive management tool-

In many cases, the company will use its mission statement as a cohesive management tool. This is opposed to the company’s vision. The company’s mission statement is mutable and changes when the need arises, unlike the company’s vision. I bet this is the main reason why the company’s mission statement is used as a cohesive management tool.

7. The current employee’s duties and the actions are the company’s mission–

The three falls under the company’s mission statement because they will help to meet the vision of the company. Without their actions, maybe the company wouldn’t meet its goal. This is the reason why the company has to set a vision and later several things that will make it easy for them to get there.

8. The words differ depending on the type of the organization–

The fact is that different companies will use different words to describe the company’s mission and vision. As a matter of fact, you will find many companies especially non-profit making organizations refer to mission statements as the action plans. Some other companies will use the term core values instead of the vision statement.

9. A vision statement creates a mental image of what the company wishes to achieve at a future date.

In fact, it’s referred to as inspirational or an aspirational challenge to the employees and the management. The vision seeks to also eliminate all the current problems in the company and lead them to a better place.

10. The company’s mission combines future plans with present plans, unlike the company’s vision that only targets the future.

This is the reason why a company’s mission can be modified at any time of the year depending on what has changed in the company or its needs. If nothing has really changed, then they would take a long time before they change the mission.

All the above are the differences between a company’s mission statement and its strategic vision. Many people have been confusing the two words because they all talk about the goals of the company and how to meet them over time. What you should keep in mind is that the vision is the goal and the mission is the action to achieve those goals.

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