Why Your Brand Needs a Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values and a Promise to the Planet

These simple steps can get your life back on track. But what if your entire business or organisation is without a mission, vision, purpose or values?

An organisation with no purpose

An organisation without a Purpose is like a mountaineer without a mountain. Why would he get out of bed, if there’s no inspiring reason to do so, if there’s no mountain to climb? And no, money does not inspire – not over a long period of time. Therefore money is never an organisation’s purpose. Purpose is always based on personal values and beliefs. Consequences of not having a purpose (contributing to something you believe in), can be burnout, depression and failure for both leaders and employees.

An organisation with no vision

Keeping the analogy of the mountaineer: To reach the top, he’ll always have to keep his vision at the forefront of his mind. If one route doesn’t work out, he will try another path that leads to the same goal. The same goes for any organisation. Without a goal to work towards, an organisation cannot measure the progress made along the way. It won’t be able to see when it’s time to find a better route to the top. Without a vision, an organisation runs the risk moving in circles instead of moving forward. They eventually get stuck and become stagnant. Stagnation is the last thing you want when you are making your way up a mountain.

An organisation with no mission

In order to reach their goal (or Vision), an organisation needs to set out on a Mission which enables them to reach that goal. Whereas the mountaineer uses his skills, experience, knowledge and hiking tools to get to the top, an organisation will do this with their expertise, skills and offerings. What matters most is the initial intention. A set intention will be the driving force on your journey. Besides defining a main Mission which relates to the organisation’s activities, the organisation should also set a measurable goal for the Mission (i.e. we help 10’000 people overcome problem x). Without a Mission, an organisation may not have the perseverance to reach their goal. This too can lead to stagnation and death.

An organisation with unaligned values

Like the mountaineer and his team, who share one rope to reach the top safely, an organisation relies on its people to climb the same path. When people within the organisation understand and are aligned with the core values, a sense of unity grows. This leads to decisions being made around what’s good for the long-term sustainability of the company, rather than gaining individual advantages. Without defined core values, an organisation will have difficulties attracting the right people, which can lead to problems with recruiting, retaining and retraining employees. It also slows down the progress of reaching the goal.

Working against the planet

Working against the planet has brought us to the point where we are today, in the midst of an environmental crisis where earth, animals and people suffer. The planet has been exploited and depleted for centuries as if it was a provider of endless sources. Today we know that’s simply not true. The economy cannot survive on a depleted planet. In order for businesses to thrive, earth must thrive. That’s why it’s so important to create an organisation that is aligned with the planet from the start.

When building the foundations of your businesses, create and fulfil a promise that serves the planet in the long-run.

Building your brand essence

Bringing everything together (purpose, vision, mission, values and environmental promise) will give your company a strong foundation to build its brand upon.

Are you ready to start building your company's brand essence? Sign up to our brand building newsletter and receive our free Brand Essence Kickstarter PDF!