{"id":46568,"date":"2019-04-26T13:17:37","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T17:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=46568"},"modified":"2019-09-24T01:52:06","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T05:52:06","slug":"company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission, Vision, and Values: The Quest For Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are two ways to make decisions.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Make the decision yourself.<\/li>\n<li>Collect relevant data and feedback and then decide.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Can\u2019t figure out which socks to wear? Option one.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Want to elucidate the core elements of an organizations\u2019s culture? We picked option two.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Culture Quest<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ll be honest: I love projects that have cool names. When we decided to dig deep on our mission, vision, and values, I knew that CQ would be a solid start. It\u2019s catchy, it\u2019s fresh, and it sounds like \u201cseek\u201d!<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>More exciting, though, was crafting the scope of this project. Even the plan got feedback, of course, and so we revised and reworked. We started with these framing questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who are we?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who do we want to be?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where do we want to go next?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As Lewis Carroll and others have tried to helpfully remind us: \u201cIf you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going, any road will get you there.\u201d Still, we wonder and we wander.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Does It Matter?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Before we take a look at the rest of the process, a few quick notes on values, vision, and mission. Are they just corporate jargon or do they really have an impact?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Values:<\/b> Real values are beliefs demonstrated in practice, guiding the way an organization treats its stakeholders, both internal and external.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mission<\/strong>: Fundamentally, <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/inspiring-company-mission-statements\">a mission statement<\/a> clearly identifies an organization\u2019s reason for existence and its main goal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vision<\/strong>: This statement boldly announcements the projected result and impact of the organization\u2019s mission being achieved<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sure, these look nice on a company\u2019s About Us page, but organizations that have taken the trouble to define these elements can see even more positive benefits. For example, studies show that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20160407005736\/en\/Quality-Work-Life-Worth-7600-Pay-Cut\">millennials are very interested in working for companies with the right culture and values, even for a lower salary<\/a>. Plus, the process itself can add clarity to the organization\u2019s understanding of itself &#8212; and strengthen its brand identity and reputation externally. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/5-key-questions-for-your-internal-communication-audit\/\">Internal communication<\/a> can be enhanced. Simply knowing and sharing these common aims can have a significant impact on decisions, strategy, and growth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Our Process<\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><b>Look Out<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Of course, it\u2019s a big world, so we took a look around at companies we admired. What mission, vision, or values do they share publicly? Are they crafted for specific audiences or purposes? Are they presented in fun videos or corporate formality? Do they appear to be authentic or aesthetic?<\/p>\n<h2><b>Look Back<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>We conducted in-depth interviews with those who\u2019ve been around the longest, including our CEO. We asked questions like these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you see as the core mission of Sogolytics?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you want Sogolytics to be known for?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you see as the most important values of Sogolytics?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Look Around<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Our core researchers reviewed these interviews, findings, and brainstorms and combined solid lists of possibilities in each category.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Look Within<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>We carried out an internal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/employee-engagement-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">employee feedback survey<\/a> (surprise!) to understand the diverse perspectives of our entire team. Questions included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In your own words, what does Sogolytics do?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In your own words, what sets Sogolytics apart from its competitors?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the list below, choose up to five values you\u2019d like Sogolytics to aspire to. Feel free to add your own.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the following, which most closely matches with your idea of Sogolytics\u2019s mission?<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the following, which most closely matches with your idea of Sogolytics\u2019s vision?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Look Ahead<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>With the results accumulated, we unveiled all the data and made decisions about how to move forward. Hooray!<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Our Results<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Finding that our mission and vision statements seemed to overlap, we decided to go with a big picture vision statement and set aside mission for now.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Building the world\u2019s best feedback platform to power the world\u2019s smartest decisions.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With our values, we re-categorized and considered and decided on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>SECURITY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>QUALITY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>CREATIVITY<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>SERVICE<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-46488\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Values-Vision.jpg\" alt=\"vision\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2><b>Now What?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>From here, we\u2019ve built these values into our onboarding, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rolled them out on our website<\/a>, and continue to build programming that will strengthen our focus on living these values and achieving this vision.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>We think big, but we\u2019re pretty excited about this process. Sure, in some ways we still have the energy and excitement of a start-up, but our continued growth encourages us to pause and reflect along the way to be certain we\u2019re headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>What did you find in your own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/survey-templates\/employee\/company-culture-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">company culture survey<\/a>? We\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are two ways to make decisions. Make the decision yourself. Collect relevant data and feedback and then decide. Can\u2019t figure out which socks to wear? Option one. Want to elucidate the core elements of an organizations\u2019s culture? We picked option two. Culture Quest I\u2019ll be honest: I love projects that have cool names. When we decided to dig deep on our mission, vision, and values, I knew that CQ would be a solid start. It\u2019s catchy, it\u2019s fresh, and it sounds like \u201cseek\u201d! More exciting, though, was crafting the scope of this project. Even the plan got feedback, of course, and so we revised and reworked. We started with these framing questions: Who are we? Who do we want to be? Where do we want to go next? As Lewis Carroll and others have tried to helpfully remind us: \u201cIf you don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going, any road will get you there.\u201d Still, we wonder and we wander. Does It Matter? Before we take a look at the rest of the process, a few quick notes on values, vision, and mission. Are they just corporate jargon or do they really have an impact? Values: Real values are beliefs demonstrated in practice, guiding the way an organization treats its stakeholders, both internal and external. Mission: Fundamentally, a mission statement clearly identifies an organization\u2019s reason for existence and its main goal. Vision: This statement boldly announcements the projected result and impact of the organization\u2019s mission being achieved Sure, these look nice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[230,60,260],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mission, Vision, &amp; Values: The Quest For Culture | Sogolytics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out how a feedback company gets answers about culture (Hint: Ask lots of questions!). Our employee-driven quest helped us define our values and vision.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mission, Vision, &amp; Values: The Quest For Culture | Sogolytics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Find out how a feedback company gets answers about culture (Hint: Ask lots of questions!). Our employee-driven quest helped us define our values and vision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sogolytics Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-26T17:17:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-24T05:52:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/about-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"487\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"714\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melissa Krut\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/company-culture-quest-mission-vision-values\/\",\"name\":\"Mission, Vision, & Values: The Quest For Culture | Sogolytics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-26T17:17:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-09-24T05:52:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eaf04ab90baaf0bb1e137e6c82f51d07\"},\"description\":\"Find out how a feedback company gets answers about culture (Hint: Ask lots of questions!). 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