WHY YOU NEED A MISSION STATEMENT
Many small business owners don’t write a Mission Statement because they feel their reason for being is too obvious. An auto repair shop is a car repair shop, a two-man paint service is just a paint service, right?
It’s fine, but only if you want to be just another business of me too. But remember, the main reason for long-term, above-average business success is that at some point, the successful business has figured out how to be better or different from the rest.
Crafting a formal mission statement may seem trivial, especially to a creative entrepreneur, but it can be a defining moment in the direction of your company.
This is what it does for your business:
1. State the main reason you are in business
2. Establish market limits for the company.
3. Set standards of values and integrity
4. Keeps the company and management focused on its main purpose
As a small or start-up company, if you don’t write a clear mission statement, you won’t know what you really are or what you want to be when you grow up!
When there is no clearly defined business purpose or context in which to operate, management tends to act on a whim. The result is that the company strays strategically for long periods of time. When there are no reasonable limits to your business concept, new ventures are launched without thought to the consequences and a small business can easily go off the rails.
A clearly defined mission statement keeps the company focused on who you are and what you strive to become. The Mission Statement can help trigger an appropriate amount of caution and skepticism, as it should be, regarding business proposals that deviate widely from their stated purpose.
WHAT IS IN A MISSION STATEMENT
A mission statement is a brief description, usually one paragraph or less, that captures the essence of your company’s values and your basic purpose for being in business. Your mission statement should be clear, succinct, and meaningful to both external readers and associated employees.
Here’s an example of a well-written mission statement from Big Blue (IBM Corporation, 2005 revenue $91.1 billion, net profit $8.0 billion or 8.8%):
“At IBM, we strive to lead the creation, development, and manufacturing of the industry’s most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices, and microelectronics. We translate These advanced technologies in value to our customers through our professional experience solutions and service businesses around the world.”
This statement is technically competent, though it may be a little lacking in core corporate values, human and otherwise.
A mission statement can sometimes be described as a simple one sentence phrase. Consider the Mission Statement of the Coca-Cola Corporation (2005 revenue $23.1 billion, net income $4.9 billion or 21%):
“The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches.”
While this statement may seem oversimplified at first, if you read it and give it some thought, you’ll begin to appreciate that Coca-Cola has captured the essence of its business.
Your mission statement should be definitive and not based on the obvious. “For profit.” not a good Mission Statement. While making a profit is essential to a healthy business, this statement says nothing about your product, service, or values.
Here is an example of one of the stars in the supermarket business: Publix Supermarkets (2005 Sales $20.6 billion, Net profit $1 billion or 4.8%):
“Our mission at Publix is to be the world’s premier food retailer. To that end, we commit to being: Passionately Focused on Customer Value Intolerant of Waste Dedicated to Dignity, Value and Safety labor of our associates. Dedicated to the highest standards of stewardship for our shareholders and involved as responsible citizens in our communities.”
I like this Mission Statement because it focuses on the human aspect of the business which always includes customers, employees and the community.
USE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT AS YOUR CREED
Once you’ve captured the essence of who you are and what you strive to be, you need to communicate it to everyone. It becomes your credo and should be a public statement suitable for distribution to customers, vendors, employee associates, investors, and anyone else who wants to know about your business.
To report it, you can:
o Make it a topic of your monthly newsletter or ezine.
o Frame it and hang it in your waiting room
o Include it as a forward in your Employee Handbook
o Display it at your annual employee meeting
o Include it with a customer survey email
o Use it in a prospectus or strategic plan for external consumption
Until you’ve taken the time to write your business values and purpose into a credo, you may be seen as just another provider of what you do.
With a Mission Statement, you give credibility to your business and professional direction to your company.