Statements open a company profile; they rarely stand alone. Our company profile design service lays the whole document out around them, from the cover to the certifications, in the same voice. If the organisation is new enough that the name is still open too, business naming comes first.
Mission and vision statement
Say where you’re going. Briefly.
A mission and vision statement should say what you do, who for and where you’re heading, in words staff remember. We write both.
Mission
What is a mission statement?
A mission statement says what your organisation does, for whom and how, in the present tense. One or two sentences, plain words, no superlatives. A good one could only be yours: a rival couldn’t borrow it without changing it. Wikipedia’s entry has examples of the famous ones, good and bad.
Two tests before anything is signed off. Could a new employee repeat it after hearing it once? Would a customer recognise the organisation from it? If either answer is no, the statement is still a draft.
Vision
What is a vision statement, and how does it differ?
A vision statement describes the future you are working towards: the world, or the organisation, when the mission has done its job. One sentence, future tense, ambitious enough to matter.
| Question | Mission statement | Vision statement |
|---|---|---|
| Tense | Present: what we do now | Future: where we are heading |
| Answers | What, for whom and how | What success looks like |
| Length | One or two sentences | One sentence |
| Changes when | The business changes | The vision is reached or strategy shifts |
| Lives in | Profiles, tenders, inductions | Strategy papers, annual reports, the office wall |
Process
How does mission and vision statement writing run?
Questions
Founders and leaders answer the same short questionnaire separately: what we do, who for, what we refuse to do and where we will be. The differences are where the work is.
Drafts
Several routes for each statement, written in the language your people use rather than the language statements usually use.
Test
Read aloud, set against your competitors’ statements and shown to a colleague who was not in the room.
Final and values
The agreed wording, a values list if you want one, and the places each statement will appear.
Deliverables
What we hand over
- Mission statementThe final wording, plus a one-line version for forms with a character limit.
- Vision statementOne sentence, with a note on the strategy it points to so it is read as a plan, not a slogan.
- ValuesA short list, each value with a line on what it means in practice, so it can be used in hiring and reviews.
- Laid-out pagesThe statements typeset for your company profile, website, slides and a wall poster, in the type and colours of your brand identity.
Branding & merchandise
Related services
Questions
Questions about mission and vision statements
Question not here? Send it to us and we will answer it directly.
Ask a questionHow do we start?
Send a few lines about the organisation through the project form or email hello@redfoxbranding.com, with any statements you have now and the deadline if a tender or report is waiting. You get a fixed quote in GBP, USD or ZAR and the questionnaire. The writing starts when the answers come back.
Does a small business need a mission and vision statement?
Only if someone will ask for one or you will use it. Tenders and supplier registration forms often ask; funders and boards expect charities to have them; and a growing team needs a shared answer to “what are we for”. A sole trader rarely does. If you are unsure, a mission statement alone is enough to begin with.
What is the difference between a mission, a vision and values?
The mission is what you do now, the vision is where you are heading, and the values are how you behave on the way. They work as a set: the vision gives the mission a direction, and the values stop the mission being pursued in ways you would regret. Most organisations need the first two and a short list of the third.
Can you write our statements for a tender or company profile?
Yes, and that is where most are first needed. A tender profile or company profile usually opens with them, and bid forms give a field with a word limit. We write to the limit and keep a longer version for the profile, so both say the same thing.
Will it sound like everyone else’s?
Not if it is specific. Statements sound alike when they lean on the same stock phrases and avoid saying what the organisation actually does. We cut those phrases, name the customer, name the service and keep the verbs plain. A statement that could hang on any wall in your industry has failed, and we tell you if a draft is heading that way.
Need the whole profile?
Get a quote for your mission and vision statement
Tell us what the organisation does, who leads it and where the statements will appear. Send the current wording if there is any. We reply with a fixed price and the questionnaire, and the drafts follow the answers. That is how we write every mission and vision statement.