Mission, vision, and values
Clarify why an organization exists, the future it aims for, and the behaviors that guide difficult choices.
Use this worksheet when people need a shared basis for decisions. Mission explains purpose, vision describes a desired future, and values guide behavior and trade-offs. Translate broad principles into examples people can apply.
The organization’s purpose, desired direction, customer concerns, and decisions that expose conflicting priorities.
Distinct statements of mission, vision, and values, with behaviors to discuss and test.
On this page
How to use it
- Discuss whom the organization serves and why it exists.
- Describe the future position you want to work toward.
- Identify principles for behavior and difficult choices.
- Apply them to a specific conflict and refine unclear wording.
- Review whether everyday decisions follow the principles.
Keep its limits in mind
A slogan does not ensure alignment or consistent service. The statements need practical examples, discussion, and review; proposed commitments must be achievable.
Agreeing on principles for out-of-stock orders
Fictional example: as Qinghe grows, store managers handle stockouts differently. Some substitute without asking; others cancel. Customer interviews emphasize predictability and respect, while “customer first” alone leaves the choice unclear.
On a small screen, scroll across the diagram to read it.
Behavioral meaning: For an out-of-stock item, contact the customer and obtain agreement before substituting. This turns a broad value into a specific decision rule.
Next check: Collect three types of service conflict and examine whether the principles lead to consistent handling. No follow-up consistency result is supplied.
Next step: Use the principles in training examples and review actual decisions before assuming they are consistently understood.
Three reasons to return from slogans to decisions
First, pause when the three statements all describe an ambition. Mission needs to explain the purpose the organization serves now. Vision describes a desired future. Values explain how people should act when choices involve tradeoffs. If all three say “be the best,” nobody learns what to do differently when a customer’s order cannot be fulfilled.
Second, do not publish a value as a promise until people can explain how it would work. “Always satisfy every request” can conflict with capacity, availability, and another customer’s commitment. Write an observable behavior and identify the limits within which staff can act. A compelling principle does not create stock, budget, or authority.
Third, stop using the exercise to label dissent as disloyalty. People can share a purpose while disagreeing about the evidence or the cost of a decision. Ask them to apply a proposed rule to a concrete conflict and explain their reasoning. Agreement on wording does not establish consistent understanding, implementation, or customer benefit.
Separate purpose, operating design, responsibility, and targets
Use this worksheet when a recurring decision lacks a shared basis. The statements need different follow-up work depending on what is missing. These methods are alternatives for specific questions, not a required sequence for writing a company manifesto.
| Question and input | Method | Useful output and boundary |
|---|---|---|
| A purpose and a service conflict need a common principle | Mission, vision, and values | Behavioral guidance and tradeoffs; no guaranteed alignment. |
| Customers, delivery, and economics need to fit together | Business Model Canvas | Operating assumptions and dependencies; no proof the model works. |
| People disagree about execution or approval rights | RACI matrix | Role discussion for deliverables; agreement must be recorded. |
| A proposed result needs a measurement agreement | SMART | A target and review conditions; not a substitute for purpose. |
Turn Qinghe’s stockout disagreement into a usable rule
The complete fictional Qinghe packet describes growing stores whose managers handle stockouts differently: some substitute without asking and others cancel. Customer interviews emphasize predictability and respect, but no interview count or service-outcome measurements are supplied. The proposed mission is helping households replenish essentials with less effort. The vision is becoming the reliable neighborhood replenishment partner households think of first. The values are explaining before substitution, making commitments that can be met, and improving from facts.
The raw conflict is a decision about an unavailable item, not a choice between admirable adjectives. “Customer first” can be used to defend either immediate substitution or cancellation. The proposed behavioral interpretation is to contact the customer, explain the available choices, and obtain agreement before substituting. That makes respect inspectable while retaining the need to confirm availability and authority. It does not authorize any replacement merely because staff believe it is equivalent.
The following are three new fictional training situations, proposed for discussion rather than collected incidents or results. They extend the same principle to unanswered contact, an agreed replacement becoming unavailable, and a delivery commitment the shop cannot meet. Their purpose is to reveal ambiguity before claiming that the rule works across stores. The actual escalation, cancellation, and remedy policies still need confirmation.
| Fictional situation | Proposed application of the values | Unresolved decision |
|---|---|---|
| Customer cannot be reached after a stockout | Keep lack of agreement visible; do not record consent or silently substitute | Who can choose a fallback, under which existing policy? |
| An agreed replacement is now unavailable | Explain the changed condition and seek a new agreement | Which options are genuinely available and within staff authority? |
| The shop cannot meet its stated delivery commitment | Disclose the mismatch and discuss feasible choices | Who can authorize the next arrangement or remedy? |
Review decisions and customer experience separately
The output is a practical interpretation to discuss in training and operating arrangements. Ask staff to apply it to each training card, retain their proposed actions, and identify where they need help. If two people choose differently, examine whether the principle, information, or authority is unclear before rewriting the value. The packet gives no evidence that all stores have adopted the same rule.
For the proposed service review, keep the unavailable item, options offered, contact attempts, customer response, actual agreement, and delivered outcome separate. An unanswered contact is not consent. A replacement accepted in discussion is not evidence that the promised item was delivered. Use only the personal information necessary for the service record and the authorized review.
When collecting the three types of service conflict, record exceptions and the reason for each decision. Consistent handling requires comparable situations and a clear rule; identical wording in a training answer is insufficient. Customer predictability and respect also need their own feedback rather than being inferred from staff compliance. No review result is supplied here.
At the next decision, retain, clarify, or revise the behavior and supporting arrangements with reasons. If the mission is still useful but the process cannot meet it, the work may be staffing, stock information, or escalation rather than a new slogan. Keep the desired vision distinct from an achieved position, and record any actual organizational commitment instead of inferring it from the completed worksheet.
Check your work
- Mission, vision, and values serve different purposes.
- Values describe observable behavior.
- A difficult decision can be discussed using the principles.
- The statements do not imply achieved outcomes or unapproved commitments.
Put the framework to work
Copy the outline and add your question, evidence, and open questions.