How Vision and Mission Statements Drive Powerful Purpose: A Guide

Creating a Positive and Accessible Firm Culture

Fostering a vibrant firm culture is pivotal in empowering teams to produce exceptional work rooted in shared values. While it falls upon leadership to define these values and steer the organization toward alignment, it’s just one of their many responsibilities. The day-to-day responsibilities of practitioners in firms of varying scales are simply staggering from the vantage point of an outsider looking in. Firm leaders juggle an astonishing array of roles, from marketing and business development to community outreach, staff development, hiring, and team building, before the actual architectural work begins. They wear these hats alongside their roles as designers, project managers, client managers, and others while upholding the highest design standards and professional standard of care.

A Harvard Business Review article emphasizes that current staff and prospective candidates seek meaning in their work by aligning themselves with firms that share their beliefs.

Firm leadership faces the challenge of nurturing a culture that unites their team around shared values. A LinkedIn article aimed at identifying critical factors for companies to prioritize to attract and retain top talent concludes as a main takeaway:

“Culture reigns supreme.”

Research indicates that employees are willing to accept lower salaries or forgo impressive titles to avoid workplaces with poor culture. Great firm culture unites around a common vision, purpose, and goals. Vision and Mission statements are the clearest means to shape and articulate these values.

Crafting Vision and Mission Statements for Your Firm

Vision and mission statements serve as the scaffolding for a firm’s actions, policies, and strategies. While they are typically seen as tools for conveying messages to the public, they are equally impactful in guiding internal actions and inspiring your team.

Your Vision Statement

Your vision statement is the embodiment of the future that you aspire to create. It should be grounded in what’s practical but focus on big ambitions. It may reflect your dedication to your local community, or it may be about what drives you to respond to more global matters. It may speak to your foundational thoughts on social equity or environmental stewardship or focus on the well-being of those who inhabit your buildings.

Vision Statements are clear and memorable. They motivate and inspire. They leave a lasting impression on those with whom you endeavor to work with.

Here are some examples of vision statements that imagine a better world:

Flad Architects: “We are committed to designing environments that shape a better world.”
MASS Design Group: “MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) believes that architecture has a critical role to play in supporting communities to confront history, shape new narratives, collectively heal and project new possibilities for the future.”
La Mas: “LA Más partners with working-class communities of color in Northeast LA on community-led development that promotes affordable housing and economic resilience. Our approach centers meaningful engagement that leads to deep relationships, community empowerment, and local ownership.”
Trahan Architects: “We believe that transcendent spaces can facilitate peace and healing instead of division and harm.”
Gensler: “We Use Design to Create a Better World”
Studio Gang: “We help people, organizations, and cities design their futures.”

Your Mission Statement

It is a compass. It guides your path toward the future embodied in your vision statement.

It is the what, why, and who of you.

Encapsulating what you do, why you do it, who you are, and who you aspire to be, all aligned with your vision.

A LinkedIn article concludes that a firm’s mission is of greater value to most employees than compensation.

“71% of professionals would take a pay cut to move to a firm with a mission they believe in.”

At its best, your mission statement explains your firm’s purpose and creates meaningful connections with your clients. It forges loyalty and commitment. It separates you from your competition. You proudly convey it in your marketing, proposals, and interviews.

Good mission statements can be acted upon. They lead to measurable results. They are touch-stones for periodic check-ins with you and your team to ensure that your work and the work you pursue align with your purpose and core values.

Here are some examples of mission statements that inspire while guiding actions and producing measurable results:

Flad Architects: “We honor the creative spirit in all things. We foster an environment of trust, integrity, and respect. We embrace both individual initiative and collaboration. We are committed partners to our clients.”
MASS Design Group: “Our mission is to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity.”
BNIM: “We deliver beautiful, integrated living environments that inspire change and enhance the human condition.”
Diller Scofidio & Renfro: “DS+R’s work addresses the changing role of institutions and the future of cities.”
La Mas: “We envision a regenerative Northeast LA that honors existing cultural and community-based systems, reconciles our extractive relationship to land and labor, and ensures stability for working-class communities of color.”
Gensler: “To create a better world through the power of design and believe the source of our strength is our people.”
TED: “Spread ideas, foster community, and create impact.”
Lego: “To inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”

According to a National Bureau of Economic Research analysis of North American firms, 79% of respondents ranked culture as a “top 5” factor contributing to their firms’ value.

A striking 92% believe that improving their firm’s culture would increase their value, often more so than their strategic initiatives.

Aligning Actions and Behavior with Values

While firm culture remains one of the least researched drivers of success, the impact of clear vision and mission statements on culture can’t be understated. However, ensuring that day-to-day office practices align with these values is crucial.

In Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, she underscores the importance of translating values into behaviors.

“…everyone talks a big values game, but very few people practice one. In our experience, only about 10 percent of organizations have operationalized their values into teachable and observable behaviors used to train employees and hold people accountable.”

“If you’re not going to take the time to translate values from ideals to behaviors–if you’re not going to teach people the skills they need to show up in a way that’s aligned with those values and then create a culture in which you hold one another accountable for staying aligned with your values–it’s better not to profess any values at all.”

When leadership models and celebrates behaviors that align with firm values, all are empowered. Clarity in decision-making arises when it’s evident that good decisions are those that align with values. Behavior, along with vision, mission, and culture, all require constant reflection and ongoing adaptation.

Let’s go beyond merely professing our values. Live, embody, and lead with them.