Pretty Impressive Wallpaper – Mission Statements

What’s that? You don’t have a Mission Statement? Get out! Oh, you have a Vision Statement then? No Vision Statement either? You are kidding … aren’t you? How do you run your business without using a Mission Statement?

Probably the same way most of us do. The truth is that very few companies use a Mission Statement. For the most part, our Mission Statements sit unread, unsaid and unnoticed except when we want to impress a new employee (or actually ourselves). And even though having a Mission Statement is a step in the right direction, just penning one is like giving employees a raise or throwing a big year-end party – it very quickly becomes a fond memory and a piece of nostalgia.

The concept of a Mission Statement was snatched from the military nearly half a century ago. Its intent was to provide focus to the efforts of many individuals working on a common project. Besides being a motivation, it can be a guiding light for decision making and a moral compass on tough issues.

If it is such a great thing, then why doesn’t the team use this beacon of truth in running day to day operations? It’s probably because they didn’t have anything to do with writing it. Who’s Mission Statement is it anyway?

Here are a few tips on making your Mission Statement an active part of your company and its culture:

• Involve the whole management team with its creation (or re-creation). When a group writes a Mission Statement together it will be theirs and not just something the boss dreamed up. There is no quicker or stronger way for people to bond than to lay out all of their dreams and aspirations together and then put that into words. In the end, a Mission Statement should tell where a company is going, what it values and why it will succeed.



• Now take things a step further. Have the team write up a statement about what action it would take in all the key result areas of the business (like market, teamwork, training, systems, cost controls and rewards) to actually begin to achieve the new Mission Statement. That will take the fluff out of things real quickly. "You mean we are actually going to try and achieve this thing?" You got it Bubba! We are on a mission … remember?



• Next, it has to remain pertinent to the daily efforts of each individual. The best way I know how to do that is to have each member of the team get a little PMS. PMS stands for Performance Management Statement and it acts like a Personal Mission Statement helping to keep us marching and thinking in line with the big picture of the group. As new members come aboard, they have a chance to personalize their contribution to the team as well through this incredible process.



• Opening company meetings with the Mission Statement, giving rewards to those who can memorize it and recite it in front of the group, periodically relating decisions of the company back to the intent of the Mission Statement, and talking about the mission of the company will help it stay alive.




• Finally, here is the secret of it all. Just the fact that you are doing this together and committing yourselves to the process will create new energy for the future. I guarantee it will produce measurable results almost immediately.

A Mission Statement can be used to build pride and enthusiasm for the higher purpose of your organization. The thing that brings everyone into work each day is to simply make a difference. We all long for a cause. Don’t let such an important human need be reduced to a block of impressive wallpaper. Use your Mission Statement to build an incredible team of focused and determined individuals ready to paint the world green for you and your customers.