Purpose, mission, principles, vision, strategy, plan. The world is full of fuzzy words, overused to the extent of losing their original meaning. However, regardless of how they are used today, my approach is not to dismiss these words but to rescue them by respecting their meaning, using them intentionally, and -maybe- writing about them. Why? I believe there is value in words and what they represent for individuals, projects and organisations. With an accurate and intentional use of these concepts, we can succeed and achieve our goals, and likewise, we can take the wrong path by ignoring or manipulating them. With this article, I want to cut the clutter, bring clarity to these concepts and organise them all together for a better understanding and -to be honest- for my own sanity too. Let’s build a rocket!

目的，任務，原則，遠景，戰略，計劃。 這個世界充滿了模糊的單詞，過度使用到失去其本義的程度。 但是，不管今天如何使用它們，我的方法不是放棄這些單詞，而是通過尊重它們的含義，有意使用它們以及(也許)寫出它們來挽救它們。 為什麼？ 我相信語言對個人，專案和組織都有價值，它們代表了什麼。 通過準確，有目的地地使用這些概念，我們可以成功實現目標，同樣，我們可以通過忽略或操縱它們而走錯路。 在這篇文章中，我想消除混亂，使這些概念清晰明瞭，並將它們組織在一起，以更好地理解並且(老實說)我自己的理智。 讓我們製造一枚火箭！

目的 (Purpose)

“Just as people cannot live without eating, so a business cannot live without profits. But most people don’t live to eat, and neither must businesses live just to make profits.” — John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods

就像人們不能不吃東西就不能生存一樣，企業不能沒有利潤就不能生存。 但是大多數人都不靠吃飯為生，企業也不能為了賺錢而生活。” — Whole Foods執行長John Mackey

Our need for a purpose is as old as our history as a species. We all somehow know this, A purpose is an immutable answer to one of the most basic and still more important questions we can ask: Why? And it is precisely its unfeasible nature, what drives change to happen and makes innovation to thrive. It is the fuel that inspires us to do more and better.

我們對某個目的的需求與我們作為一個物種的歷史一樣古老。 我們都以某種方式知道這一點， 目的是對我們可以問到的最基本也是最重要的問題之一的不變答案：為什麼？ 正是正是它的不可行本質，才推動了變革的發生並促使創新蓬勃發展。 是激勵我們做更多更好的燃料。 但目標不僅對於我們個人而言至關重要，而且對於我們計劃執行的專案和任務也至關重要。

My favourite definition of purpose was given by David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard in 1960:

我最喜歡的目的定義是惠普(HP)聯合創始人大衛·帕卡德(David Packard)在1960年給出的：

“Purpose (which should last at least 100 years) should not be confused with specific goals or business strategies (which should change many times in 100 years). Whereas you might achieve a goal or complete a strategy, you cannot fulfil a purpose; it’s like a guiding star on the horizon — forever pursued but never reached. Yet although purpose itself does not change, it does inspire change. The very fact that purpose can never be fully realised means that an organisation can never stop stimulating change and progress.”

“目標(應至少持續100年)不應與特定目標或業務策略(在100年內應多次更改)相混淆。 儘管您可能實現目標或完成策略，但您無法實現目標。 它就像地平線上的引導星-永遠追求，卻從未實現。 儘管目的本身並沒有改變，但確實可以激發改變。 目標永遠無法完全實現這一事實意味著組織永遠不會停止刺激變革和進步。”

As simple as this is, for many reasons we tend to forget our purpose, ending up with repetitive tasks and with a poor idea of why we are doing what we do. When this happens, it is only the inertia that keeps us moving, giving us a false sense of progress, and therefore impacting us negatively. Once we identify the problem, a journey back to rediscover our purpose is needed. For a person, it could be a gap year, a trip back to their origins or a drastic change in their habits and lifestyle. For projects and companies, it requires a detailed and honest analysis of their values, their history and current state in order to build up or redefine a purpose.

就這麼簡單，由於多種原因，我們傾向於忘記自己的目標，最終導致重複的任務以及對我們為什麼要做自己的事情的想法很模糊。 當這種情況發生時，只有慣性才能使我們前進，給我們一種錯誤的進步感，從而給我們帶來負面影響。 一旦發現問題，就需要重新發現我們的目的的旅程。 對於一個人來說，這可能是一段空白的一年，或者是回溯到他們的起源，或者是他們的習慣和生活方式發生了巨大的變化。 對於專案和公司，它需要對其價值，歷史和當前狀態進行詳細而誠實的分析，以建立或重新定義目標。

任務 (Mission)

A mission is a statement of who we are, but not by defining our personality, or how we behave, but by focusing on what we do and what concrete outcomes we want to achieve to fulfil our purpose and achieve our vision.

一個使命是我們是誰的宣告，而不是通過定義我們的個性，或者我們的行為，而是著眼於我們做什麼，有什麼具體的成果，我們要實現實現我們的目的，並實現我們的願景。

A clear mission will sweep away any existentialist stain and give us the focus we need by defining who we are and what we do. This should naturally follow after our purpose statement is defined.

一個明確的任務將清除一切存在主義者的汙點，並通過定義我們是誰和做什麼來給予我們我們需要的關注。 在定義了我們的目標宣告之後，這自然應該遵循。

For example, let’s say we are a space exploration company whose purpose is “to expand the frontiers of human knowledge”. Following this statement, we can define our mission as “We want to put a man on Mars by the end of the decade”. While the first can inspire any reasonable person, the second (still inspiring) provides us with a focus on a concrete outcome, driven by our purpose.

例如，假設我們是一家太空探索公司，其目的是“擴大人類知識的疆界”。 宣告之後，我們可以將我們的任務定義為“我們希望在本世紀末將一個人送上火星”。 雖然第一個可以激發任何理性的人，但是第二個(仍然鼓舞人心的)使我們著重於具體目標的實現，這是由我們的目標驅動的。

It is important to mention we can have more than one mission statement, according to the size, resources and scope of our project or company. This is not only reasonable, but healthy. Multiple missions help us diversify and bring focus to different tasks that will come up from our strategy and plan.

值得一提的是，根據專案或公司的規模，資源和範圍，我們可以有多個任務說明。 這不僅合理，而且很健康。 多項任務可以幫助我們實現多元化，並將重點放在戰略和計劃所要完成的不同任務上。

價值觀與原則 (Values and Principles)

I like to place these two together, even though they are different. This is because I believe they serve us better as a single entity.

我喜歡將兩者放在一起，即使它們不同。 這是因為我相信它們作為一個整體可以更好地為我們提供服務。

Your values define what is important to you. In a sense, they are very similar to your purpose but referring to your personality and behaviour rather than to a ‘greater’ cause or idea. Your principles, on the other hand, give you specific directions to comply with your values.

您的價值觀定義了對您而言重要的事情。 從某種意義上說，它們與您的目標非常相似，但指的是您的個性和行為，而不是“更大”的原因或想法。 另一方面，您的原則為您提供了遵循價值觀的具體指導。

戰略 (Strategy)

A strategy is a high-level bucket where we include the best steps and actions to get desirable results. Think of it as a framework for making decisions that work as a glue which puts together and gives meaning and intention to every step we must take to achieve something. We arrive at a strategy by running a careful analysis that includes multiple factors like our strengths, weakness, opportunities and potential threats, together with our skills and resources. All of these combined to create a competitive advantage.

戰略是一個高層次的工具，其中我們包括最佳步驟和行動，以取得理想的結果。 可以將其視為制定決策的框架，這些決策就像膠水一樣，為實現目標所必須採取的每一個步驟都凝聚在一起，並賦予其意義和意圖。 我們通過仔細分析得出一個戰略，其中包括我們的優勢，劣勢，機會和潛在威脅等多個因素，以及我們的技能和資源。 所有這些結合起來創造了競爭優勢。

As presented by author and speaker Roger L. Martin in his article “Don’t Let Strategy Become Planning”

正如作者和演講者羅傑·馬丁(Roger L. Martin)在他的文章“不要讓戰略成為計劃”中介紹的那樣

“(A strategy)… is one integrated set of choices: what is our winning aspiration; where will we play; how will we win; what capabilities need to be in place; and what management systems must be instituted.”

“(一項策略)…是一組綜合選擇：我們的制勝目標是什麼？ 我們將在哪裡玩； 我們將如何獲勝； 需要具備哪些能力； 以及必須建立哪些管理系統。”

計劃 (Plan)

Once you have your strategy, when you zoom in, what you see is your plan. A plan is a detailed set of steps that articulates concrete actions about how your strategy will be executed. A plan, if followed properly, will take you to your desired destination.

一旦有了自己的策略，放大之後，您所看到的就是您的計劃。 計劃是一組詳細的步驟，闡明瞭有關如何執行策略的具體操作。 一個計劃，如果正確執行，將帶您到所需的目的地。

What I love about plans is how clear and simple they are by nature. Even the bad ones, lacking a strategy, mission or purpose behind, will still present a structure of its own that is hard to miss. A plan can’t lie, by succeeding or failing it will give you the straight answers you need, whether you like it or not.

我喜歡計劃的本質是計劃的清晰和簡單。 即使是不好的人，也缺乏戰略，任務或目的，仍然會呈現出自己不容錯過的結構。 一個計劃是不會說謊的，無論成功與否，它都會為您提供所需的直接答案，無論您是否願意。

The moment when a plan is executed and starts giving us the first results, it will put on the table the strengths and weakness of the organisation and will tell us if previous steps are missing or were covered properly.

一旦執行計劃並開始為我們提供第一個結果，它就會把組織的優勢和劣勢擺在桌面上，並告訴我們先前的步驟是否丟失或被正確覆蓋。

+願景 (+ Vision)

Our rocket is ready, but it needs to go somewhere. A vision is a destination, a statement of where you are going and where you want to be.

我們的火箭已經準備好了，但是它需要去某個地方。 願景是目的地，是您要去往和想要去的地方的宣告。

But how is a vision created? Where does it come from? I wrote about this in detail some time ago in ‘The Making of a Vision”. I invite you to give it a read if you want to dig deeper on this since I want to keep this post as simple and as short as possible. As copied from my previously mentioned article:

但是，如何建立願景？ 它從何而來？ 不久前，我在《願景的形成》中詳細介紹了這一點。 如果您想對此進行更深入的研究，我邀請您閱讀它，因為我想使這篇文章儘可能簡單和簡短。 從我之前提到的文章中複製而來：

“Despite the romantic idea that a vision is brought to us, mortals, by some sort of divine inspiration, when talking business or about offering a product or service with enough value for a market out there, a vision needs to be something more curated and defined, with a basic structure that provides us with the fertile soil where plans can be born to achieve the goals that fulfilled that vision.”

“儘管有一個浪漫的想法，那就是凡人通過某種神聖的靈感而帶給我們凡人，當進行業務洽談或為市場提供具有足夠價值的產品或服務時，我們需要對願景進行更多策劃，定義的基本結構為我們提供了肥沃的土壤，在那裡可以誕生計劃以實現實現該願景的目標。”

我們的火箭建成了 (Our Rocket is Built)

There are many things we can apply in life as well as in business. The concepts presented here are some of the most common steps we take when working on a new project or when making regular choices. Regardless of the size and complexity of the task, it is important to have clarity on the steps we need to take from defining our purpose to executing a plan.

我們可以在生活和商業中應用很多東西。 這裡介紹的概念是我們在進行新專案或進行常規選擇時採取的一些最常見步驟。 無論任務的規模和複雜性如何，重要的是要弄清從定義目標到執行計劃所需採取的步驟。

Our rocket is built with all the key pieces that will make it take off, fly and arrive at our desired destination. I hope this article serves you as a guide to understand these concepts and their differences better.

我們的火箭由所有關鍵零件組成，可以使它起飛，飛行併到達我們想要的目的地。 我希望本文能為您提供指南，以更好地理解這些概念及其差異。

Thank you for reading!

感謝您的閱讀！

This article was written with Writty.

本文是用Writty撰寫的。

Here are some articles which helped me find my way to explain some of these concepts. If you have time to read a bit more, I highly recommend them:

以下是一些文章，這些文章幫助我找到了解釋其中一些概念的方法。 如果您有時間閱讀更多內容，我強烈建議他們：

Mission Versus Purpose: What’s The Difference? by Bruce Jones at disneyinstitute.com

任務與目的：有什麼區別？ 由布魯斯·瓊斯(Bruce Jones)在disneyinstitute.com上

Your Company’s Purpose Is Not Its Vision, Mission, or Values by Graham Kenny at Harvard Business Review

《哈佛商業評論》的格雷厄姆·肯尼(Graham Kenny)表示，貴公司的目的不是願景，使命或價值觀

Values and Principles: A Forgotten Life Compass by Brian Pennie at thriveglobal.com

價值觀和原則：布萊恩·彭妮(Brian Pennie)在thriveglobal.com上的《被遺忘的生活指南針》

Don’t Let Strategy Become Planning by Roger L. Martin at Harvard Business Review

哈佛商業評論雜誌的羅傑·馬丁(Roger L. Martin)著，不要讓戰略成為計劃