Mission and values: reality vs. aspiration
Vision looks ahead, but mission and values have to describe what’s real. Chris Erickson on grounding them in reality and layering in aspirational values.
Summary
Chris Erickson draws a line between vision and the other two foundations. Vision is about the future: what the company is going to do and accomplish. Mission and values have to describe what is real today, and teams can tell right away when they’re built on hope instead. His fix is to layer aspirational values alongside the core ones.
Highlights
- Vision describes the future; mission and values describe the present.
- Values built on hope instead of reality get noticed fast.
- Aspirational values can sit alongside core values.
Key insights
Accuracy is the standard
Mission and values aren’t dreams. They earn trust by describing how the company actually works.
Name the aspiration
Calling something aspirational lets a company aim higher without pretending it’s already there.
Detailed analysis
Many teams write values that describe who they want to be and present them as who they are. Splitting core from aspirational keeps the core list honest and gives the team a clear picture of what still needs work. Vision is where the future belongs.
Conclusion
Keep mission and values true to today. Put the hopes where they belong, and label them.
Let’s talk accuracy. Now, vision is all about the future. These are the things we’re going to do. This is what we’re going to accomplish. But mission and values, they need to be grounded in reality. What is real—not what you want to be real, what is real. If your mission or values are rooted in a hope of what is real, not in what actually is real, everybody will smell that quickly. Mission, values, they’re not dreams.
That said, something that we found to be very, very helpful is actually layering an aspirational mission or an aspirational value into your actual mission or your core values.