Mission, Vision, poTAYto, poTAHto

"For many of us, these are highfalutin' terms that have no role in early stage startups, because we're too busy making stuff and realizing that customers actually wanted something else. By the time the company is large, there are teams of people⁠-probably in marketing⁠-carefully sculpting these things as sentence fragments in large serif fonts on "About Us" pages that no one reads and no one believes. And by no one, I mean not employees, not customers, and not investors."

"So Patagonia's mission is "to save our home planet," though what it does is sell outdoor clothing. Or Tesla's mission is "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy," though what it does is sell cars, followed by selling batteries and solar panels. Or Coca-Cola's mission is "to refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit," but what it does is sell barely-potable chemicals and containers of said chemicals embedded in carbonated water. Well, two of those three companies are at least fulfilling their mission."

Many organizational terms such as mission, vision, purpose, BHAG, and North Star are frequently treated as lofty but tangential concepts. Early-stage startups often prioritize building and learning from customers over crafting grand statements. As companies scale, marketing teams can turn these terms into decorative copy that neither employees nor customers trust. Definitions diverge: mission can mean a higher, societal purpose or a concrete execution goal. Examples show firms claiming grand missions while primarily selling ordinary products, revealing a gap between stated purpose and actual activities. The inconsistency undermines clarity and practical usefulness.

Read at A Smart Bear