There is a lot of confusion about how to write a mission statement. This section is designed to explain what a mission statement is, how it differs from a vision statement and how you can develop an inspirational mission statement that will focus your employees on how they will achieve the organisation's goals.
Mission statements have been poorly written for form many years. In particular, they have been vague, boring, uninspiring, and confusing. They are often made up of meaningless jargon. In fact, the writer of the Dilbert cartoons produced an automatic mission statement generator as a joke. There are many other automatic mission statement generators now on the web for the amusement and entertainment of people trying to write one.
Here are two examples from Dilbert:
1. It is our job to continually foster world-class infrastructures as well as to quickly create principle-centred sources to meet our customer’s needs.
2. Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance-based infrastructures.
These two statements certainly do not pass the test we have later in this paper.
Dan Heath has produced a video that humorously debunks poor Mission Statements. See the video here.
This section will help you produce a mission statement that will inspire your employees and focus them on what needs to be done.
A great mission statement will attract, engage and retain employees. It will help build teamwork and a great organisational culture and it will focus employees on being more productive.
Writing a mission statement can be done in a one-day workshop. (See Workshop notes)
If you are running the workshop you should allow half a day to collect relevant background information available within the organisation. This forms part of the preparation for the workshop. A Culture Firm consultant is available to help, should you need it.
We create a mission statement to provide direction, inspiration and focus for employees. It broadly describes what the organisation expects of its employees. It articulates real targets for employees to achieve and is used to develop a strategic plan for all employees.
Write the mission statement after you have written the vision statement and the organisation's values.
The vision and values are usually chiselled in stone and don’t change. The mission statement, on the other hand, can change after you have reached the organisational goals. Another sign that the mission statement needs to be revised is when people start saying that ‘the organisation is not a good as it used to be’ or ‘not as inspirational as it used to be’ or ‘the organisation has lost it mojo’.
DEFINITION
It is not uncommon for people to get vision and mission mixed up. Quite simply vision is about WHERE you are going. It is about the future of the organisation, its goals and aspirations.
Mission is about HOW you get there. How your values get you there. How you create your future. Mission includes your goals and describes what you do and how you are going to do it, as well as who for - your target market.
Both terms began in the military and so it is instructive to revisit how they are used in the military. A military vision might be to win the war and make the world a safe place for our children. Or simply to “take that hill” or to “win over that country”. The Mission is made up of goals that add up to help achieve the vision, however, the vision remains constant. So, the mission changes as goals are achieved, or not achieved. Once the mission to climb a mountain is achieved the mission is changed to achieve another objective. In some organisations, different divisions have different mission statements.
In some instances, companies produce a bold mission. A bold mission is called a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG).
It is important to write a succinct mission statement - one that can be easily recalled by employees. A good mission statement reaches out and grabs employees and bonds them together in a common, dare we say it, mission.
The primary audience for a mission statement is employees and shareholders.
EXAMPLES
Retail
McDonald's: We are focused on delivering great tasting, high-quality food to our customers and providing a world-class experience that makes them feel welcome and valued.
Amazon: It’s our goal to be the Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything at Amazon.com.
B2B
IBM: Dedication to every client’s success. Innovation that matters – for our company and the world. Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships.
B2C
Proctor and Gamble: To provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers, now and for generations to come.
Louis Vuitton: For customers, we create products that embody unique savoir-faire, a carefully preserved heritage and a dynamic engagement with modernity. These creations make our Houses ambassadors of distinctively refined art de Vivre.
Samsung: Dedicated to making a better world for our customers through diverse businesses that today span advanced technology, semiconductors, skyscraper and plant construction, petrochemicals, fashion, medicine, finance, hotels and more.
The BBC: To enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.
All these example mission statements explain HOW the organization will achieve its vision.
RESOURCES
DOWNLOAD WORKSHOP TO GET STARTED
Download the workshop exercise below, this exercise should take a day to complete and will require executives from all relevant departments; finance, marketing, sales, human resources, product, operations etc.
The workshop notes contain the agenda to conduct a one-day session with your team. Notes from the library will help. If you prefer to use a Culture Firm endorsed consultant click here.
DOWNLOAD TEST NOTES TO EVALUATE WORKSHOP
After you have written your Mission Statement test it with the following questions. If you answer “No” to any question then you will need to revise your Mission Statement accordingly.
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