Coach Jim Haley

At the end of my last post, I promised to share with you the reasons for having a clear vision and mission statement for your business. Instead of giving you the “standard” list of benefits, I want tell you about a recent conversation that I had with one of my business clients.
The client shared with me how they were facing a number of difficult legal and financial challenges on many different fronts. Their story painted the picture of a ship off course being tossed around by a dark and angry ocean. Rather than keep talking about the client’s current problems, we took time to go back and look at their vision and mission statements. Miraculously, within a few minutes, my client felt a renewed sense of clarity, direction, and motivation. They left the session resourceful and ready to move forward.
When business life gets tough, as it so often does, our vision and mission statements serve to get us back on course, guide our decisions and actions, and remind us of our business purpose.

What’s the difference between a business Vision and Mission statement? ⠀
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A Vision statement clearly and succinctly describes the dream a business has for its customers. It’s a positive benefit or experience that the business wants to make possible for its target audience.

A Mission statement describes the particular product and/or service that a business commits to providing in order for their customer Vision to become a reality.

Here are a couple of simple examples: ⠀

A winter sports company’s Vision for its customers: “People living and playing on the mountain in comfort and in harmony with their environment.” And their Mission: “Create next-generation gear, as a natural extension of the body, which makes every moment the most enjoyable.”⠀
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A clean energy company’s Vision for its customers: “A world in which people use ‘green’, sustainable energy.” And their Mission: “Help businesses and governments put policy into action in order to transform waste into energy.”
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I hope you can see from these two examples the subtle difference between a Vision and Mission statement. Again, a business’s dream for its customers is the Vision, and their commitment to providing the service and/or product needed to make that dream to come true is the Mission.⠀
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In my next post, I will explain why it’s so important for business owners and leaders to have clear and compelling Vision and Mission statements. ⠀
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In my last post, I told you about the vision that I have for my coaching clients. However, in order for a vision to become a reality, it needs to have the support of a clear and committed mission.⠀
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So, without further ado, here is my mission: “To give business owners and leaders the rare opportunity to share their stories, dreams, and challenges in a non-judgmental and supportive environment where they can see beyond their existing boundaries, appreciate and focus on their core strengths, clarify what’s truly possible,and confidently take the action that brings their desired future into the present.”⠀
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Wow, that’s a mouth full. So, why am I telling you this? Most business owners and leaders don’t have a clear understanding of what their vision and mission actually are, the difference between the two, and why they are essential for business success. So, this is my sneaky way of setting the stage for clearly showing you the difference between a business vision and mission, and their importance, in my upcoming posts. Please tell me if you like where this is going!⠀
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Jim Haley – Your Signature Impact Coach⠀
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This is my first Social Media post. A “no biggie” for most people that are younger than me which, as it turns out, are mostly the people I work with. I don’t see myself as ancient, but I have walked on this planet long enough to acquire business knowledge, experience, and insights that I want to talk about with as many professionals as I can. That’s why I’m now jumping into Social Media. Actually, it’s more like getting my toes wet.

I am a business, executive, and former sport coach with a clear understanding of what I do and why I do it (very important for growing a business). My vision is to help business owners and leaders realize the true power of their personal impact, and then use that impact to create value and opportunity for themselves and others. This is a pretty simple message, but it took me a while to come to it.

So, if you’re a business owner or leader who hears the Calling to use your business as a vehicle for making a positive contribution while creating wealth, I invite you to start following my posts that will be offered to help you do just that.

Jim Haley – Your Signature Impact Coach