What's the difference between purpose and mission?

There are some fundamental questions in life that are worth exploring.  Do you say tom-ayto or tom-ahto?  Is a medium roast coffee actually better than a light roast? Is private label organic milk as good as the name brand organic milk?  We could have a fun time analyzing and discussing, but generally they’re equivalent or at least minimally different. The same could be said for purpose and mission. 
 
 (Folks who love medium roast.  I feel you- those are fighting words.)
 
A purpose is generally defined as the “why” of what you decide to do. For a person, it might be that they a personal purpose to lessen the suffering in the world. For a company, purpose is similar – essentially it connects them to why they exist.  Nature’s Path Organic Food, for example, has a purpose to “leave the earth better than we found it.”  They put that purpose into action by selling organic products, improving their packaging and advocating for strong organic standards.  Organic agriculture is a powerful way to protect the environment (organic is the answer). Patagonia’s purpose is also very clear: “we are in business to save our home planet.”  And every day they do just that - delivering high quality, low impact clothing to their customers. They even became a perpetual purpose trust to steward their purpose forever. As did Organically Grown Company.

Ok, now to the mission.  A mission is generally how you will implement or operationalize your purpose.  In the case of the person who wants to end suffering, they might decide that their mission is to help reduce hunger in the world.  So, every Saturday they volunteer to pack food at the food bank, or they engage locally with elected officials.  Looking at a company, Vital Farms states that: “we are on a mission to bring ethically produced food to the table and our purpose as a business is to improve the lives of people, animals and the planet through food.”  An inspiring “why,” with a clear mission of bringing great food to people.
 
So, rewinding it all, does it really matter if you mix up purpose and mission?  Is there that much of a discernable difference? 

If you’re happy with your vine ripe toma-hto, then I am happy with my heirloom toma-yto.  What matter is that having a “why” in your life or the life of a business gives meaning and acts as a compass.  We should all know that "why" as much as we should know the "how."  

My personal purpose and mission statement is to heal myself and the earth so that future generations of all species can survive and thrive.  Every day I wake up with that in mind, and so it's easy to get motivated. Why not create your own personal purpose and mission statement?  It's an ally in decision-making and a compass in your back pocket. Who doesn't want that?
 
All My Best,
Brenna



I love to write and share my passion for purpose driven leadership. Download your copy of my Purpose Power worksheet, which is designed to connect you with your own unique purpose.  We can change the world together!