Mission & Vision: Not Just for Non-profits

Your vision is big-picture, aspirational and oriented toward the long game. Where do you see yourself in twenty years (your place in the market in terms of your reputation, products, services, etc.)? How do you see your work impacting your customers’ lives and your community itself? Having a clear vision helps to formulate an actionable mission.

Before framing your mission and vision, you have to understand your core purpose. Your purpose is the reason you come in to work every day; it’s the foundation for all the decisions you make for your brewery, and it shapes the operation of your business, from the beer and experiences you create to the methods you use to deliver them. We do this by defining your product(s) and method(s) en route to understanding your purpose.

Your products are the concrete things you sell to your customers (beer, in this case). In a world with near limitless craft beer available, we need to dig deeper to compel customers to buy your beer. Closer to your purpose is your method, or the practices you use to create and deliver your products (think proprietary brewing methods or the experiences you create surrounding your beer). The foundation for all of this—your reason for existing—is your purpose. This matters because customers want to support companies that align with their personal values. For example, if I care about supporting veteran causes, I’ll seek out a veteran-owned brewery.

Here’s a quick example:

• PRODUCT: “We’re a small, Belgian-focused brewery.”
• METHOD: “We use traditional Belgian brewing methods to create authentic Belgian beer.”
• PURPOSE: “My great, great, great grandfather worked at a brewery in Belgium and I grew up hearing stories about him. I’ve wanted to be a brewer for as long as I can remember.”

Most breweries land somewhere between their product and method as far as their marketing is concerned, but your purpose is what draws people in and fosters a deep emotional connection. Your purpose directly informs your positioning and the role you play in your community.

We find that long form stories are the quickest route to defining your Purpose. What was your childhood like? What lead you to open or work at this brewery? What’s the story behind your brewery’s name? Why did you put your brewery in this neighborhood? What causes do you support? It’s important for the founders to do this since they’ll know that early history. But it’s also important for your current leadership and larger team to contribute since you’re all working together towards a common goal.

Have everyone on your executive team go through this exercise. When you look at several sets of notes, you’ll start to see some common ideas emerge. These are likely contenders for your brewery’s Purpose. Once you’ve framed this, you can move on to develop your mission and vision statements.

Books & Brews is an Indiana brewery that combines a used book store with each brewery location to build a fun, communal space. Their mission is to be:

Books & Brews speaks about (and acts on) the type of change they want to see in their community.