Author: David Carpenter / Source: Lifehack
Have you ever felt lost in the minutia of your job?
As a business owner, I can relate to getting bogged down in the day to day operations of my business. Things like inventory, payroll, scheduling, purchasing and employee management take up the bulk of my day.
While these things are important and need to get done, focusing too much on the details can make you lose sight of the big picture. This is why having a good mission statement comes in handy.
What is a Mission Statement?
Put simply, a mission statement is an internal document that provides a clear purpose for the organization. It provides a common reference point for everyone in the organization to start from.
In other words, after reading your company’s mission statement, managers and employees should be able to answer the question “What are company’s main objectives?” For example, Southwest Airlines mission statement reads:[1]
“Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth.”
In this single statement, Southwest conveys the company’s goals of providing the highest level of customer service as well as providing a good working environment for their employees.
Mission Statement VS. Vision Statement
While the mission and vision statements are related, there are subtle but distinct differences the you should be aware of.
First of all, a mission statement is designed primarily as an internal company document. It provides clarity and direction for managers and employees.
While there’s nothing wrong with sharing your company’s mission statement with the outside world, its intended audience is within the company.
While a mission statement provides a general framework for the organization, the vision statement is usually a more inspirational statement designed to motivate employees and inspire customers. Going back to Southwest Airlines, their vision statement reads:[2]
“To become the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline.”
This statement inspires good feeling from the customer while motivating the employees to achieve that vision.
What Does a Good Mission Statement Look Like?
When coming up with a mission statement, it’s important to take your time and do it right. Too often, people (especially entrepreneurs) just write down the first thing that comes to mind and they end up with worthless or (worse yet) a generic mission statement that is utterly useless.
Remember, a mission statement should provide a common framework for everyone in your organization.
When writing a mission statement, you should always try to incorporate the following;
- What we do?
- How we do it?
- Whom do we do it for?
- What value are we bringing?
Now, you can see how tempting it is to just come up with something generic that ticks off those four boxes. Something like “We provide the best widgets available online for the consumer.”
After all, that did check off all the boxes:
What we do? Provide widgets.
How we do it? Online.
Who do we do it for? The consumer.
What value we bring? The best widgets.
The problem with this mission statement is that it could apply to any number of companies producing the same widget. There is nothing to distinguish your company or its widgets from any of your competitors widgets.
Compare that mission statement to this one:
“We provide the highest quality widgets directly to the consumer at an affordable price backed up with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If our clients aren’t 100% satisfied, we’ll make it right.”
What’s the difference?
Both mission statements answer all the same questions of what, how, whom and value. But in the second statement, they are differentiating their company from all other competitors by answering the question “what makes us unique”.
Another way to read that is, “Why you should buy from us.” In this example, it’s because our widgets are of the highest quality and we stand behind them 100%.
You might have noticed the statement didn’t say that we sell widgets at the lowest possible price. That’s because we are emphasizing quality and satisfaction over price.
A different company’s mission statement may emphasize selling widgets at the lowest possible price with little to no mention of a guarantee.
Hallmarks of a Good Mission Statement
1. Keep It Brief
Your mission statement should be no longer than three sentences. This is not your company’s magnum opus.
You should be able to distill the what, how, who and why questions into a succinct message.
2. Have a Purpose
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