From Mission to People: Designing Organizations from First Principles

Oct 7

I see a recurring pattern in hiring and promotions: Companies allow their current roster of talent to shape their strategy and structure, rather than ensuring that strategy and structure dictate who the company hires and promotes. This approach is backward, undermining both efficiency and effectiveness. To build a high-functioning organization, we must think from first principles, starting with Mission and Vision, moving through to Strategy, then Organizational Structure, and only then considering People.¹ This progression ensures alignment, clarity, and sustained performance. I have included a link here and at the end of this article so that you can work through this progression with your business.

Mission: The Organization's Purpose

An organization's mission answers the fundamental question: "Why do we exist?" It articulates the organization's core purpose and its reason for being beyond profit. A well-crafted mission grounds the organization in values and defines the enduring problem it seeks to solve or the value it aims to create. ²

A strong mission:

Is succinct and clear
Articulates the core reason for the organization's existence
Is enduring, not time-bound
Provides a moral or ethical compass
Unites the employees

For example, a high-end dog treat company might have a mission such as: "To spread joy and health to dogs everywhere through wholesome, handmade treats."

This statement serves as the touchstone for decision-making, resource allocation, and organizational culture.

Vision: The Future Destination

While mission focuses on the why, vision defines the destination: "Where are we going?" A compelling vision provides inspiration and a long-term goal. It helps unite the organization under a common ambition and motivates stakeholders to work toward a shared future.

An effective vision:

Is aspirational and future-focused
Is specific enough to guide planning, yet broad enough to inspire

For example, the vision for that same dog treat company might be "To become the most beloved brand of natural dog treats in North America."

Strategy: The Path Forward

Strategy bridges the gap between the current reality and the envisioned future. It answers the question: "How will we achieve our vision?" Strategy is not a collection of goals or initiatives; it is a coherent set of choices about what game to play and how to win that game.

What Strategy Is:

The intelligent allocation of resources through a set of clearly defined and unique activities designed to achieve specific goals.³
A set of integrated choices that guide actions and decisions
A way to align the organization around what matters most and what does not matter

What Strategy Is Not:

Not a “why.” That is your mission.
Not an aspiration. That is your vision.
Tactics. Tactics are more tangible than strategy.

Strategy: Climbing Everest on the south face in May, with an experienced team
Tactics: Using a newly designed set of integrated boots and crampons.

Merely setting performance targets (e.g., “grow 20% per year”)
An operational plan detailing day-to-day tasks
Incremental operational improvement or efficiency

A robust strategy involves:

A plan that clearly states 1) What are you trying to achieve, and 2) How you will achieve it. ⁴
Resource allocation.
Understanding the competitive landscape
Clarifying key differentiators
Identifying critical capabilities
Allocating resources to prioritized efforts

When strategy is well-aligned with mission and vision, it creates a clear focus and guides operational and structural decisions. Show me how your people spend the majority of their time, and regardless of what you might have published, that work is your most accurate strategy statement.

Organizational Structure: The Blueprint for Execution

Once the strategy is in place, the next step is to design an organizational structure that can execute it. Structure answers the question: "How should we organize ourselves to best implement the strategy?"

Structure includes:

Defining functions and departments
Clarifying roles and responsibilities
Establishing reporting lines
Designing workflows and decision rights

Critically, structure should be derived from the strategy, not from the existing talent pool. This is a pivotal distinction. Too often, organizations ask when deciding how to organize an executive team or reporting lines simply look around the room and ask, "Who do we have that we can put in that role?" instead of asking the critical question, "What knowledge, skills, and abilities does our strategy require for that role?" This is not an episode of Iron Chef.⁵ How often have you seen the “battlefield promotion” for someone who performed well in one area of a business fail because they did not possess the knowledge or skills demanded by the strategy and structure of a different area of the business?

People: Hiring with Intent

Only after defining the structure should we consider who fills the roles. Here, we must avoid the trap of placing people into roles that do not match their capabilities or that compromise strategic intent.

Job descriptions at the executive level should be carefully crafted based on the organization's needs, not on the personalities or preferences of the CEO or other executives. This means avoiding the temptation to hire in one’s (or the team’s) own image; we want consistent values, not consistent personality types. Is our team too analytically driven? Hire the action-biased executive. Is our team to action biased? Hire the data-driven thinker who drives us to make more thoughtful decisions. This kind of intentionality requires discipline and clarity of thought. The temptation to fill roles with available talent, however well-intentioned, often results in suboptimal performance and misaligned leadership. Yes, you need to hire the right culture fit. And, don’t fill a role without designing it to fit the structure.

This first-principles approach to hiring ensures:

Alignment between leadership roles and strategic priorities
Clear expectations and accountability
A culture driven by purpose rather than convenience

Let’s bring this architecture to life through a fictional example: Tilly’s Bakery, a boutique dog treat company, founded by my dog, Tilly.

Tilly’s Mission

"To spread joy and health to dogs everywhere through wholesome, handmade treats."

This mission highlights the company’s purpose beyond making money—it speaks to animal well-being and delight.

Tilly’s Vision

"To become North America's most beloved brand of natural dog treats."

The vision provides an inspiring future that is specific, measurable, and supported by objective data.

Tilly’s Strategy

Tilly’s strategy involves:

Focusing on premium, organic ingredients as a key differentiator
Targeting affluent pet owners in urban areas
Partnering with boutique pet stores and online pet influencers
Building a direct-to-consumer subscription model
Tasting every new product herself 🙂

Importantly, Tilly does not try to compete on cost with mass-market brands.

The C Suite Structure

To execute this strategy, Tilly’s early⁶ C suite structure includes:

Tilly as CEO (her herding instincts make her a perfect fit)
Head of Finance (with all of G&A reporting to this role)
Head of Product (to lead treat creation and innovation)
Head of Marketing (to drive influencer and digital campaigns)
Head of Sales (to drive revenue and partnerships)
Head of Operations (to manage production and logistics, or to lead outsourced 3rd party production if that is part of the strategic plan)

People

Rather than promoting from within simply based on loyalty or tenure, Tilly crafts detailed role descriptions and recruits based on required capabilities. For example:

The Head of Marketing must have proven success in scaling a premium consumer brand digitally. Tilly’s product is high-end, and it needs to penetrate a discerning and fickle market, both in brick-and-mortar and online.
The Head of Product needs a background in food science and a passion for pet nutrition.

By letting mission, vision, and strategy dictate structure—and letting structure guide talent decisions—Tilly’s builds the organization it needs, not just the one it already has.

Conclusion: Let Purpose Lead

Designing organizations from Mission to People ensures integrity in design and execution. It requires courage to resist the gravitational pull of legacy talent and existing structures. But the reward is an organization where every role exists for a reason, every leader serves a purpose, and every structure supports the strategy.

Be like Tilly⁷: Let mission define your purpose, vision guide your aspiration, strategy chart your course, structure enable your execution, and hire great people to bring it all to life.

Want to try this exercise yourself? Click here.

¹ This does not mean that I don’t believe that attracting, elevating and retaining great people are not at the core of being a great leader. Rather, you have to figure out what type of skills you need in the role before you hire or promote.

² While values are a critical part of an organization's identity and culture, they are not the focus of this article

³ Rich Horwath, Strategic Thinking Institute “What is Strategy” September 23, 2020. There are many definitions of strategy, and after a thorough review I decided this one made good sense and was relatable.

⁴ Id.

⁵ In Iron Chef, accomplished chefs are told at the time of the cooking competition what the secret ingredient will be in their dish. Its hard to have a menu strategy when you don’t know what ingredients you will be cooking with.

⁶ As businesses grow and scale, strategies may shift and structures will adjust to recognize the change in circumstances. Even though Tilly’s dad used to be a lawyer, she does not think she needs a General Counsel at this time.

⁷ Also, don’t be like Tilly; don’t dig in your mom’s garden.

Seth Weissman