“Purpose”, “Mission” and “Vision” Needed for Strategic Planning

By Julie R. Felice, CPM
jrfelice@sisna.com

In planning lingo, what is the difference between purpose, mission, and vision? There is a lot of confusion about these three words.

A purpose is an end result, a goal which an organization is seeking to accomplish. Purpose is the answer to the question, "Why does this organization exist?" The answer is to achieve the purpose.

Mission is typically understood as a broader concept. Mission is synonymous with mission statement and includes three major concepts: the purpose (as above), the "business" an organization engages in to achieve this purpose, and a statement of values guiding the accomplishment of the mission.

Finally, vision is the most global concept. A vision is quite literally a mental image of the successful accomplishment of the mission, and thus the purpose of the organization.

Articulating Mission and Vision

A  mission statement must communicates the essence of an organization to the reader. An organization's ability to articulate its mission indicates its focus and purposefulness. A mission statement typically describes an organization in terms of its:

• Purpose - why the organization exists, and what it seeks to accomplish;
• Business - the main method or activity through which the organization tries it fulfill this purpose; and
• Values - the principles or beliefs that guide an organization's members as they pursue the organization's purpose.

Whereas the mission statement summarizes the what, how, and why of an organization's work, a vision statement presents an image of what success will look like.

The Academy Board is hopeful of completing the current Strategic Planning process by the end of this year.

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