Speaker 1: Are you a UX designer, a product owner or manager, or a project lead who wants to help your team come to a consensus on what the project is and how to get there moving forward? Then it's really important for you to understand the difference between a mission and a vision. And I'm going to talk about that today. Have you ever worked on a project where not everyone agreed what the project actually was and what you were striving towards? I've been there. Part of the problem was you didn't have a mission and you did not have a vision. Now a lot of times these are written at the organization or company level. I'm going to tell you that you can write a mission and a vision at a product or project or feature level. It's important for you as somebody who is helping to determine the direction of an upcoming product or feature to make sure that the team is aligned. You don't have to be the product owner to do this. You can be a user experience pro to propose that a mission and a vision is written for a project. So I want to give you the tools today to get the team to a consensus around a project by writing a mission and a vision. Let's get started. First, let's talk about what a mission is because it's different than a vision. So the mission is the why of a project. It is the purpose and the value and the goals of why you're even doing this thing. The mission, like I said, is often written at a company or organization level, but it doesn't have to be. You can write a mission for your team and the project or the product that you're working on. You can guide the team in writing a mission for the product or the project that you're working on. I have a couple of tips on how to write a good mission. First, we want it to be short and sweet. A single sentence will do. Second, your mission should be an inspirational statement that your fans, your users can follow. So what's the value of having a mission? Like I talked about, it can be inspirational. It talks about the story of your bigger picture, why you as a project or product, why you exist. It also is great at aligning the team. No more that swirl of what are we working on? Why are we working on this? Where are we trying to go? A mission gets the team locked around what the purpose of the project is. It also is a great way to create an identity for a project or product. Writing a mission differentiates you from other products or features that are occurring in the organization. It also is great when you want to differentiate yourself from what the competitors are doing. Finally, a mission helps the project stay focused. As the project progresses and grows, things could change, and that's okay. But it's good to have a mission as a foundation to revisit, to ensure that you are still on the right path to success. So I want to walk through a few examples of a mission. First, let's talk about Lowe's, they together deliver the right home improvement products with the best service and value across every channel and community we serve. Lowe's vision talks about why it exists, the purpose, and the goals. Let's talk about Disney's vision, to entertain, inform, and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling. Lowe's is Disney's mission, the why they exist. Now I want to switch gears and talk about a vision. The mission was the why, now the vision is the what. The vision is what the organization or the product aspires to be. The vision explains what the existence will eventually look like. So some tips on writing a good vision, you want to be specific. This vision should not apply to just any product or any other project, it should be specific to what you are working on. A vision should have clear language and you should avoid ambiguity, you should avoid technical jargon and things that are kind of buzzwordy. And finally, a vision should have a lofty outlook. It should be practical yet achievable. So let's talk about the value of writing a vision. A vision aligns the team, again we're trying to reduce that swirl of what are we trying to do, what are we trying to get to. The vision talks about what are we trying to get to. A vision acts as the project's north star. The vision talks about the direction that the project is going to go without ambiguity. It is specific on the value to the user and how it meets business goals. The vision addresses the problem you are trying to solve. So I have a framework that helps you guide your team in writing a vision. This simplifies the process by giving them a framework, a way to structure their vision statement. It has three components. What it's supposed to do, for whom, and the value or the impact. What it does, for whom, and the value or the impact. By having a simplified framework like this, it makes writing a vision easier. So let's go through a few examples of a vision. Amazon. Our vision is to be the Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. So what are they trying to do? The most customer-centric company. Who for? Their customers. And why? What is the value or the impact? So that they can find and discover anything they want to buy online. That is Amazon's vision. Let's talk about Warby Parker, who is an eyeglasses retailer. Warby Parker's vision is, we believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy and good-looking with money in your pocket. We also believe that everyone has the right to see. So what is it trying to do? Warby Parker is trying to make buying glasses easy and fun. How should you feel? Happy and good-looking. This is some of the value and the impact that buying glasses through Warby Parker can provide. Also leaves money in your pocket. And so who is it for? It implies that it is for a customer. And a little bit more impact and value is that they believe everyone has a right to see. So this is Warby Parker's vision. Let's talk about Coca-Cola's vision. The universal soft drink. Our vision is to craft brands and choice of drinks that people love. To refresh them in body and soul. What is they're trying to do? Craft the brands and drinks clearly tied to Coca-Cola. Who for? The people. And finally, what is the value or the impact? To refresh them in body and spirit. A very aspirational viewpoint. So I want to revisit the difference between a mission and a vision. First, the mission is the why. It is the goal or the value that you are providing to your users or your customers. It is the purpose of why you exist. And the vision is what you are aspiring to be. It is what that existence will look like when you get there. The vision is the North Star. So one more time, mission is the why the product or service exists. The vision is the what. What you are trying to get to. What are you aspiring to be? Let's look at Coca-Cola's vision as an example through this framework that we talked about. What it does. It creates a choice of drinks. Who does it do it for? People. What is the value or the impact? Refreshes the body and spirit. Now that you understand the difference between a mission and a vision, you do not have to be a product donor to propose that your team aligns. You can get that alignment by having your team write a mission and a vision to explain why your product exists and what you are striving toward. If nothing else, it provides some great content for your slides that you're going to be presenting to executives on your project. So take some time to get the team aligned around a mission and a vision now. If you found this helpful, let me know in the comments what else you'd like to see.