reason for being

An organization's reason for being, or raison d'être, is the reason that justifies the organization's existence. This reason can only exist outside of the organization, as an organization only survives if its environment has a reason for it to exist. The reason for being is integral to the purpose aspect as well as the business model element of purpose.

Reason for being - the business model element --

The business model element reason for being is one of the four key elements making up the element of purpose of an organization -- values, reason for being, ambitious goals, and vision.

Idealism --
Idealism is essential for inspiration and motivation. 'Reason for being' and 'ideal', as in ideal seeking, are related. Idealism is associated with vision and romance. An inspirational purpose is idealistic. A reason for being is timeless, it is not a goal or an objective, but am idealistic pursuit that inspires imagination and commitment. ""Disney's core purpose is to make people happy-not to build theme parks and make cartoons."" (Collins, 1996).

Mission --
The reason for being is often referred to as the mission. The organization's reason for being - the journey embarked upon - is the pursuit that is the core of its existence. By itself, it is a simple statement. A rich understanding of the purpose comes from the discussion of the possibilities and the vision based on that mission. Purpose reflects the importance people attach to their company's work. It captures the soul of the organization. Purpose gets at the deep reasons for existence beyond making money. A purpose should be stated in 5-20 words. VISA example: ""We are really in the business of the exchange of monetary value.""

Mission, choice, and winning --
A mission statement does not commit an organization to what is must do to survive, but what is chooses to do to thrive. Therefore it should be a statement that can be disagreed with. If not, it is a poor mission statement. A well considered mission statement also taps into the heart and soul of people. People want to win at what they do. The mission statement clearly defines what they are being asked to win at. (Ackoff, 1999a)