In Profit As Impact Flywheel I talked about mission-driven companies, but there's a problem with the word "mission". And "vision" for that matter.

This is the image that ChatGPT came up with. I can't decide if it's perfect, or horrific. Maybe both.

Most company vision and mission statements are buzzword bingo. Not because people are lazy or stupid, but because these words have lost their meaning. Vision is not a tagline. Mission is not a list of values.

Corporates have diluted Vision and Mission into marketing persuasion tools, used to hide their growth at all costs, everything for the shareholder operating policy.

These words have become so over abused that many people can’t even reasonably articulate the difference between these two words any more.

We’ve all seen what happens when these aren’t in place, or are dishonestly in place. Unclarity leading to chaos. Upstairs disconnected from downstairs. Left hands that aren’t aligned with right hands. Decision making by spreadsheets etc.

Vision and mission are not the same thing and they are not interchangeable. Vision is the world you see. Mission is your part in making it real. One without the other is either dreaming or directionless doing.

Status quo today. Better world in the future. Draw a line between them. That line is your company. Vision is what the world looks like when you're done. Mission is what you're going to do about making that vision become reality.

Tony's Chocolonely didn't just say they'd make ethical chocolate. They said the world should have no chocolate made with slavery. That's an actual vision. Their mission is their specific part of making it true. And they know they can't do it alone.

Your vision and mission should be describable in one or two sentences. If you can't do that, they’re not ready. Not because simplicity is the goal, but because if you can't say it clearly, you don't understand it well enough yet.

That clarity is critical, but sometimes you need more words to tell the story. Your manifesto takes it further. One sentence vision. One sentence mission. Then the full story: status quo, future world, your part in it, and an invitation. To customers. To employees. To investors. To anyone who gives a damn.

The manifesto is also a decision-making tool. Every choice you face, you can ask: does this get us closer or further from the vision? Is this part of our mission?

The clearer the vision and mission, the easier it is to say no to the things that don't belong and focus on the things that matter.