DAVE HARDY
Transformative Leadership / Brand Strategy / Creative Direction

Steal These Ideas

Being bold isn’t easy. If it were, we’d see the evidence of it among the many and not the few. As a student of brand and creative strategy, I see the product of the connection between our fears and our tendency to embrace mediocrity. With 25 years building brands and teams in the agency space, I want to explore ways to see challenges as opportunities and to discover how to harness what holds us back.

How Purpose, Mission, Vision, and Values Fit Together as a Brand Story

One question that inevitably comes up in any brand transformation is, “What is the difference between purpose, mission, and vision?” Think of each of these elements, including your values, as chapters in your brand’s story. They need to work together to create an overall narrative, but each should have its own distinct contribution to avoid redundancies that can dilute the impact.

Purpose
Simply put, the big question here is “Why?” Using Simon Sinek’s concept of “Why, How, What,” why does the brand exist—beyond making money? That statement, beyond making money, is often the hardest part for leadership, especially of more mature brands, to grasp. I recently read a different way to express the idea of purpose: “What is your obsession?” What is driving you forward? A great purpose will become your North Star, giving people an opportunity to either buy in wholeheartedly or opt out. Your purpose should never change; if it does, it becomes a different brand.

Mission
Your mission is your plan to achieve the purpose. This is often the biggest area of confusion, but in conversation, what naturally occurs is being able to answer the question of what value you are creating. A mission is often interlinked with your strategy and should be constantly revisited.

Vision
A vision should be a short and clear statement depicting a future state. A great example is Microsoft’s: "A computer on every desk and in every home." You can approach a vision from two angles: 1) a vision of transformation, or 2) a vision of achievement. The example above would fit into the latter. As a vision can be achieved, constantly monitor how you are performing against it and be prepared to change it when it has been achieved or is no longer serving its purpose.

Values
Whenever you are brand building, approach it with a sense of aspiration. The future is not yet set, and you need the people building the brand to achieve its purpose, connect with the customer, and bring them into a group of people trying to change the world. Your values are a key component in developing an internal culture and external connection. What are you not willing to compromise on?

If you get this right, a strong brand story should not only guide the leadership team through the peaks and valleys of growth but also serve as a differentiator, setting your brand up to cement its future against the competition.

Brand StrategyDave Hardy