A mission statement is a simple statement that describes the purpose of your organization or why it exists; it’s a natural, intuitive starting point. It’s also the foundation on which a company is built.
Not too long ago, I was meeting with the board of a non-profit organization. As a test, I took out a crisp $20 bill and placed it in the middle of the boardroom table. I announced that the first person who could repeat their company’s mission statement could keep the $20. And not one person could. A few people had a vague idea and were able to string a couple of words together, but that was it. It was a sorry sight. The real kicker is that this mission statement was prominently shown on every piece of communication they handed out and was even on the binders they had for that meeting.
A clear and easy to understand rallying cry can be a powerful motivator to staff, stakeholders, and customers. My question to you is this: Does your organization have a mission statement?
A mission statement should offer a source of purpose and inspiration to the organization’s employees and advocates and ultimately influence their behaviour. And behaviour leads to results.
My encouragement to you is to shake things up! If you’ve got a mission statement then dig into its meaning and connect with your team to see if there’s an opportunity to re-engage with the intent behind it and how you can better express it in your organization. If you don’t have a mission statement then rally the troops and roll-up your sleeves – this is important stuff.