The Difference Between Purpose, Mission, and Vision

If you want the people you serve and lead to embrace with your brand’s mission and impact, you need to be clear about who you are, what you do, why it matters, and where you’re headed.

Start with Purpose to Understand the Difference between Mission and Vision

Great brands don’t start with purpose.

They begin with focus: Who you are, what you do, and why it matters.

But without purpose, you’ll never stay focused.

A purpose is the reason your organization has begun a journey, guided by the deeply-held values and beliefs that inspire it to make a difference.

You organization’s purpose is the reason it exists beyond making money.

Your mission is the path your organization follows to arrive at its destination: When someone asks you where you are going, they ask you how you are going to get there. Your mission is the how: the unique way you do what you do, the path you choose to follow, the decisions you make to get to your destination.

Will you follow a focused and direct path; or one that wanders? A mission-driven path will be direct, and you’ll be accomplishing the things that matter that align your company goals with your purpose. That’s how you successfully and profitably get from where you are now to where you want to be and turn your vision for your business into reality.

Vision is your destination at a point in the near or distant future. Vision defines your goal and sets the expectation of what you’ll experience when you arrive at the destination. Your mission is your vision in action, connecting your purpose with your impact.

If you’re creating or evaluating your mission statement, consider substituting the words Why, How, and What for Purpose, Mission, and Vision. These substitutions will help you minimize any confusion between the terms and what they mean.

• Purpose guides you. Your purpose statement articulates why you do what you do, why your organization exists beyond making money.
• Mission drives you. Your mission statement is how you accomplish your purpose. Your mission is what drives you every day to fulfill your purpose. It's a direct path between your purpose and vision. Mission is doing what matters and eliminating the distractions; it activates the strategy that delivers results and impact.
• Vision is where you aspire to be. Your vision statement is what you will experience and achieve in the future, the results you are reaching for, the measurable impact you want to make. Your vision reminds you what the difference you make will look like and what change will happen. Vision aligns leaders and inspires followers. Vision keeps you on course, to fulfill your purpose.
• Impact is what matters:  Goal-setting is the ongoing process of aligning your mission and vision with your purpose. What are the strategic goals that align with your purpose, and what are the measurable results of achieving your vision?

Is There Value in Having a Personal Purpose and Mission?

Now that you understand the difference between purpose and mission for your company, can you apply your understanding of the difference between vision, mission, and purpose to yourself and your team?

A company’s purpose, character, and culture create shared meaning for the organization, its brand, and for the people who choose to work there.

Leaders, when you lay out a larger vision and expect people to join you in the mission to achieve it, don't be surprised if they aren’t ready.

Given them time to grow into the new vision.

Think of a company’s character as the values and norms that make it likable and meaningful. Those values and norms are the unbreakable threads of company culture that guide how it conducts business and treats people.

The CEO of Vitamix, Jodi Berg, conducted three research studies to understand the difference between people who are  purpose-driven and people who are goal-driven. When employees asked, “Do I have the opportunity to live with purpose through the work that I do?”, she studied how an organizational purpose and an employee’s personal purpose affect their performance.

Her research helped her understand why it’s critical to make personal purpose a critical factor in attracting, hiring, and retaining the right talent:

“One of our guiding principles is to find people that passionately believe in making the world a better place. It’s one of the most important values—because if you don't truly believe in making the world a better place—then you may choose to make decisions that aren’t necessarily making the world a better place.”

• Follow In The Company of Prayer and receive a brief email to start your day.
• Understand and activate the difference between purpose, mission, and vision in Raise Your Voice: A Cause Manifesto.

Purpose Publications

Putting Purpose Into Practice: The Economics of Mutuality. “The essence of modern economics and management is a battle for purpose in a world of rapidly increasing complexity and confusion. Not just having a purpose, but making that purpose real at every level of the organization.”

Brian Sooy is the first Level C Certified Brand Strategist and StoryBrand Certified Guide. Brian leads the Aespire branding agency and authors books and thought leadership to help leaders find clarity, focus teams, align culture, build brands, multiply impact, and build thriving businesses.

Thanks to these websites and writers for spreading our ideas

• We discovered remarkable similarity between this article by Brian Sooy (written in 2013) and the key points and conclusions in a 2020 article from the Center for Agile Leadership.
• This "Finding Your Purpose" mini-workshop deftly incorporates the main ideas from this article, and kindly links an image of Simon Sinek's framework to this website.