Can Your Mission Statement Fit on a T-Shirt and How Would It Fit You?

Would you wear your mission statement for everyone to see?

Someone once said that a mission statement should fit on a T-shirt. 

If you are developing or revising your mission statement, you might be thinking, “How can something like crafting a short business statement possibly be so challenging?” You are not alone, and I’ve seen avoidable mistakes made as a consequence of employers almost subconsciously deceiving themselves or making the process much more complicated than it needs to be. 

For example, as I referenced in a previous HRTools.com Insight that introduces the mission statement process, Google’s one-sentence mission statement reads: "Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The last I checked, their stock was trading at close to $400 a share. 

To give you a closer look at how this process can trip you up, I’ll first share some common mistakes employers can make when formulating their stated purpose: 

1. Not evaluating the motivation or the reason(s) for needing one: If a business owner feels compelled to come up with a mission statement just because the guy down the street has one, employers can end up fooling themselves. Or thinking that they better come up with one, because an HR 101 text book says to have one.
2. Using the process to excite the employee base: Employers who think, “Hey this sounds like fun, and if we just talk about it, it will get our employees excited, so let’s make sure we are able to at least say something” can ultimately lead to a regrettably skewed statement.  
3. Making it something only ‘for show’ or superficial purposes: If you are taking the time to put together a mission statement, and it’s only for show purposes that’s not a valid reason. Instead you will want to (a) carefully think it through; (b) inspire a general sense of collective agreement; (c) have it reflect a non-negotiable part of who you are and what you do. Then, your mission statement stands to serve a more real purpose. 

Now that you know what mistakes to avoid when developing a mission statement, here are a few practical steps that you can use as an aid: 

1. Make it a deliberate process and don’t drag it out.
2. Approach it with an intuitive type attitude; ideas should come to you fairly quickly.
3. Select company representatives, if yours is a large organization. If yours is a smaller organization, you may want to appoint a core group of employees who will gather others’ input, including senior level employees. 
4. Ask people questions such as, “What is it about our company that is meaningful to you? Why do you come in here instead of going somewhere else down the street?” In other words, you want to find out what makes your workplace unique to your employees.
5. Create a draft statement and ask for feedback.
6. Analyze the draft statement and ask yourself if this statement will be valid a year from now, two years from now, etc.
7. Make sure it reflects your values, vision, and why everyone comes to work everyday. 

Remember this statement should reflect you and your business. It stands for something that you will live by each and every day. If it’s just some slick-looking thing hanging on the wall, and you’re not operating in a way that demonstrates this statement, then it becomes more of a distraction than anything. Finally, imagine seeing your mission statement on a T-shirt. Would you want to wear it for everyone to see?

Would you wear your mission statement for everyone to see?