Recently, we went through a process to formalize our mission, vision and values.
In fact, it was the first time we’ve actually written these things down. Throughout the history of McNary Marketing and Design, we’ve always had goals and direction informed by Joshua’s experience, expertise, and desire to build a business that complements the life of the McNary family. But recently, as our efforts, client base, and team have grown, we decided it was time to formalize these guiding ideas.
Sitting down to write these statements can be daunting. How are you supposed to sum up your entire business – your entire working life, and all your goals for the future – in just a few sentences? And what’s the difference between all these terms like mission, vision, values, and other ones like purpose, anyway?
In the end, though, we found it to be a worthwhile experience. Here’s what we came up with.
Mission
We like the idea (informed by Psychology Today) that a mission statement should answer what a company does, who it does it for and how it does it. It should be short and memorable. Our mission is: Each business utilizing the best technology for their situation, work, and mission.
Vision
While mission describes what a business does, a vision statement can be a bit more forward looking, describing what the business hopes to do or be in the future. Our vision is: McNary Marketing helps businesses discover & implement the best marketing & sales technology, so they can sell more while doing less.
Values
Finally, values describe what the business will prioritize and how it goes about living its mission and vision. Our values are: Future-thinking, clients, partners, trustworthy, organized, informed, quality.
Have you been through the process of writing down your mission, vision or values? Want to compare notes? We’d love to talk shop.