A start-up company must determine its mission, vision, and values

The client

A small start-up biotech company wanted to develop a robust framework for its current and future business strategies.
 

Challenges

• Entrenched factions within the company could not agree on the key driver of success; a science-only focus or a commercialization focus.

• The group consisted mainly of scientists who had varying degrees of experience with strategic planning.
   

Solution
A 3-day meeting was convened in order to develop and agree upon the following:

• Mission –The mission statement describes the intended work, the customer, and clarifies the exact nature of the services or products to be provided.  Mission statement writing is mostly a science or a craft.

• Vision – The vision statement provides a clear, inspiring word picture of what the work looks like when preformed in it desired state, what the customer looks like when the ideal relationship with the customer is realized, and indicates what it looks like when those services or products are being delivered or produced in the way they should be.  Vision statement generation is much more of an art.

• Core Values – Value statements are often referred to as "guiding principles" or how a company will act while it seeks to achieve its mission and vision; it is an expression of a company's core beliefs.

• Critical Success Factors – These are the 4 to 8 elements that are most crucial to the success of any given mission, vision, project or goal.  It is what an organization or a group must be or have in order to be successful.
   

Results

By the end of the session, it was agreed that both key drivers were important for future success; it was a question of time horizons.  A science-only focus was required in the short-term (24 months), which would evolve into a commercialization focus in the medium and long-term.  Good science would remain the foundation.

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