A Mission Statement Should Be Purposeful and Energizing Through Good and Bad Times

Google’s one-sentence mission statement reads: "Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."

Although a simply constructed sentence of 15 words, Google’s mission statement is succinctly powerful. No one could argue against the company’s claim, as stated on its Corporate Information—Company View Web page: "Google is now widely recognized as the world's largest search engine -- an easy-to-use free service that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of a second."

Would you say their mission is succeeding? In February, Google reported on its Google Milestones Web page: "After adding Turkish, Thai, Hungarian, Estonian, Albanian, Maltese, and Galician, Google Translate is capable of automatic translation between 41 languages, covering 98% of the languages read by Internet users."

A mission statement is useful if there is a strong purpose for having it.
Some business owners are confounded by the idea of developing a mission statement. Others argue that mission statements are a senseless waste of time. Then, some business people insist that a mission statement is absolutely essential for any company to be successful. If someone says to me that all businesses should have a mission statement, I say that is partially true. I believe that a mission statement is useful if there is a strong purpose behind it.

If there is a reason to develop one, a mission statement needs to be well thought-out and purposeful. A business should not have a mission statement simply because someone says they should have one, or so it can be framed and hung on a wall or printed on a nice little trifold display card.

Remember Enron? They had a mission statement; it was concise, understandable and very powerful. Anyone walking into their corporate offices could see it hanging there on the wall and, as it turns out, it wasn’t worth two cents. If a mission statement becomes a bunch of words that people snicker at, you’ve wasted your time.

A mission statement steers you through good times and bad times. 
Basically a mission statement serves as the foundation for the ship you steer through rough and calm waters. It represents you and why you exist. A mission statement clarifies your organizational purpose—who you are and what you are about. It should speak to you and your employees by answering this question: "What is the point of showing up here every day?" 

If developed with a purpose and a reason in mind, a mission statement helps you get people aligned with what you are trying to accomplish. It serves as a valuable and powerful catalyst for energizing employees, stakeholders and customers, keeping everyone on board with you through good and bad times.

So, to be effective, a mission statement should be visible and create excitement. It should also reinforce the ideas that we are on the same team, and we are moving in the same direction. It should underscore the reasons why we are doing this together. A mission statement should connect people with their values—that is, individuals who carry out your mission should find that their personal values match those declared by the company’s.

When someone sees your mission statement, they should see an image of your vision, a "pre-painted picture" of a desired future outcome. 
This big-picture imagery, again, helps move people toward that future direction. Then when stresses, crises and distractions show up at the door, you have this foundation and direction firmly planted and it helps keep everyone steady. It keeps you in the channel and, when times are tough, prevents you from running ashore and getting grounded. If your mission statement is real and it’s strong, and if people take it seriously, it will serve as a compelling and steadying force.

If you are thinking about developing a mission statement, think about why you need one. Think about your business and what sets you apart from other businesses. You want it to represent nonnegotiable parts of why you exist and who you are. Remember, too, when you finalize your mission statement, you must be committed to living it out. You must choose to make it the focal point of your business. Otherwise, you will have a bunch of words displayed on a piece of paper or hanging on the wall that are meaningless.

In a future HRTools.com Insight, I will review steps for approaching and developing a mission statement, including some commonly made mistakes to avoid.

Your mission statement should reflect the image of your vision. It also serves to inspire everyone to keep moving in the same direction through good and bad times.