mission, vision and values in times of crisis

Las empresas familiares que duran no son inmunes al cambio, pero son leales a lo esencial.

In times of crisis, many companies run to change their strategy, their structure or even their identity. But family businesses that endure do not because they adapt to everything, but because they know what they should not change. In the midst of chaos, what remains becomes anchor and compass. And that is precisely what the mission, vision and values represent: the nucleus that gives meaning, direction and cohesion, even when everything else is transformed.

1. THE MISSION: Why does meaning

The mission answers a fundamental question: What is this company for? It is not a slogan or a marketing statement. It is the purpose that justifies each decision, each effort and every sacrifice. In times of crisis, the mission is the reminder that the business not only seeks to survive, but to serve.

Example:

A family business dedicated to the production of healthy foods defined its mission as “nourishing with integrity.” During an input crisis, he could have opted for cheaper ingredients. He did not. He maintained his standard, even if he implied less margin. Result: it strengthened its reputation and won new customers who value coherence.

Keys:

• Write the mission clearly, but live it with conviction.
• Use it as a filter for difficult decisions.
• Communicate it constantly, not only in manuals, but in conversations.

2. The vision: Thumbs in the storm

The vision is the horizon to which it is aspired. It does not change with each fashion or each generation. It evolves, yes, but without losing its essence. It is the image of the future that inspires, unites and guides.

Example:

A textile company that was born to give decent employment to women in rural areas has gone through three economic crises. He changed products, markets and channels … but never its purpose: dignify through work. Today exports, but continues to use the same communities.

Keys:

• Check each generation, but not reinvent it by anxiety.
• Ensure that all family members and the company know it and share it.
• Turn it into a living narrative, not a decorative phrase.

‘The companies that have survived more than three crises are not the largest or the most modern … are the most faithful to themselves.‘

3. The values: deep roots in moved ground

Values are early decisions. They are the “how” things are done, even when nobody is looking. In times of crisis, firm values allow to act with coherence, generate trust and sustain culture.

Example:

A businesswoman from the food sector had the opportunity to make aggressive cuts in pandemic. They decided to keep their entire team, even with utilities reduction. Result: zero rotation, reinforced reputation and multiplied loyalty.

Keys:

• Practice values, not only in the easy, but in the difficult.
• Evaluate whether key decisions respect or betray them.
• Correct the course when incoherence is noted.

4. Culture: When mission, vision and values are experienced

Culture is the concrete expression of what is believed and valued. It is not imposed, it is grown. And in times of crisis, it is the culture that allows acting quickly, cohesion and meaning.

Example:

A third -generation family business, facing a leadership crisis, chose not to look for the “most prepared”, but to the most committed to culture. Today, with empathetic and coherent leadership, it has managed to grow without fracturing its essence.

Keys:

• Do not assume that the culture “is inherited alone”: it must be formed and transmitted.
• Celebrate acts that reflect values, not just the results.
• Invest in spaces of intergenerational conversation.

In a world that changes faster and faster, the essential is not adapting to everything, but knowing what should not be changed. The companies that have changed the most on the outside are the ones that have changed the least inside. Because what does not change … holds.

The most resilient family businesses are not the ones that are transformed to survive, but those that survive because they know what they do not transform.