Mission Objective – Mission Statements

When we decided we had done enough case studies and it was time to put our group “out there” for hire, there were a few key concepts or ideas that we knew we had to stay true to. At this point, please let me take the scenic route to my point, it will help me explain why I decided to post on the subject of Mission Statements.

About a week ago, Tony (one of my partners) and I we’re reminiscing of our time in NJ. There aren’t very many good memories of that state, it really is the arm pit of America. Had it not been for the fact I was working for my dream company (Apple) and spending most of my time in Philadelphia and New Your, I would have never lasted two years there.

Anyway, we use to play this game. It was called, “If I Owned This Place, I’d…” No matter where we were; a retail location, restaurant, hotel; we would compile a list of changes we would make or implement to bring the establishment up to snuff.

Ironically, it wasn’t until almost three months, after launching our firm, that we remembered playing that game. It’s funny how organically all of it came together, almost as an extension of who we were vs. something we wanted to do.

Improving what we see around us is part of who we are.

Now we’ve arrived at the subject or thesis of this blog. (Do blogs have a thesis? Seems a bit formal for a blog, no?) I digress.

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The Mission Statement…

Why do we have mission statements? It’s a questions we asked ourselves while hashing out the things you hash out when starting a company, particularly a Small Business Consulting group who is going to assist in these kind of matters with their clients.

We came to the conclusion that companies have jumped on the “Mission Statement” bandwagon for one of two reasons. Now, you’ve got to understand that it may seem cynical, our answers, but it comes from what we see every day in our line of work. People saying something “correct” vs. what they actually care about or believe.

A companies mission statement is spawned from one of two places:

1. Marketing Ploy
2. Sincerity & Accountability

Marketing Ploy———–> The marketing department (or the person who plays that role), may tend to think that Mission Statements are for pitching your, “genuine care for your clients through innovative and client focused initiatives.”

Did I get all the proper jargon in there?

– Vomit –

There is an old adage, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, we’d like to offer up a piece of advice for your companies Mission Statement:

IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING GENUINE TO SAY, DON’T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.

In fact, while reading a blog that I subscribe to, they gave a series of websites that would help you do you’re own branding, company name, mission statement etc. Here is the site for mission statements:

http://www.netinsight.co.uk/portfolio/mission/missgen.asp

It goes to show the jargon filled, manufactured way companies approach the idea of a mission statement.

Sincerity ———–> There are some companies who have gone the route of sincerity. The jargon is put on the sidelines and the real players (i.e truth) are called in to play the game.

These companies look at their mission statement, first as pronouncement of who they are and what they are after and second as information for the client. Their mission statements are internally motivated and are used as a check and balance for important decisions.

So, does it really matter?

We think it does and we think it matters a lot. So here are a few things to take away from this article:

+ Be honest about who you are, the client will figure it out.

- Don’t talk about your great customer service or your passion to serve, you’ll look goofy if the client isn’t saying it as well. Let them be your, Raving Fan.

+ The statements should align with your company culture.

- It should not be filled with adjectives that are found on the link above.

+ You should be able to use your MS as a guide when a tough decision comes your way; when hiring or when looking at taking on a new product line etc. . . You should be able to look at the question your facing, place it against your mission and have your answer.

- Your statement should not be made up by or about one person.

+ If you want your mission statement to have a marketing aspect, make sure it can be used in a sentence (your elevator pitch) and not sound rehearsed.

- Don’t have one for the sake of trends. Wait till something is natural and a mirror to who your company is and where it is going.

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