Just imagine you are at a Chamber Luncheon and someone asks you “What is your mission?”\u00a0 If you can’t answer that question immediately and succulently all the fairy dust in the world won’t motivate people to follow you.\u00a0 Being the capitalist that I am, the unwritten ending to any for-profit business mission will be “and make money”.\u00a0 But what comes before needs to inspire and NOT rely on the charisma of the leader.\u00a0\u00a0A good mission will speak to employees, customers and stakeholders.\u00a0 Furthermore, I’m partial to mission statements that every employee can repeat easily.\u00a0 That means often less than 20 words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A mission is useful when hiring at all levels.\u00a0 With entry level employees, the mission will give them a quick idea of what they are expect to accept.\u00a0 If they can’t understand the mission or don’t buy into it’s premises, they will know that they are not the right choice.\u00a0 At the leadership level, a leader will know if they can support the statement and get others to follow.\u00a0 Sometimes, when I am helping a small business refine a mission statement, there is the desire to put everything into the mission – vision and core values are separate yet important support to the health of a business and its mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remember, your mission is what gets you excited and energized each and every day.\u00a0 If it excites you, your staff will see your excitement and most will join in the adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are some for companies that I know and use:<\/p>\n
Starbucks<\/strong>:\u00a0 to inspire and nurture the human spirit \u2013 one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toyota<\/strong>:\u00a0 To sustain profitable growth by providing the best customer experience and dealer support.\u00a0<\/p>\n DuPont<\/strong>:\u00a0 Sustainable Growth: Increasing shareholder and societal value while reducing our environmental footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n St Luke’s Hospital in Maumee<\/strong>: Improve your health and well-being by promising to put our Patients first. Always.<\/p>\n The Andersons<\/strong>:\u00a0 We channel our time, talent and energy in pursuit of fundamental goal of serving God by service to others.<\/p>\n Ebay<\/strong>:\u00a0 global, social, and entrepreneurial trading that is enabled by eBay’s Internet ecommerce systems and services.<\/p>\n Amazon:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Our vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.<\/p>\n Facebook:<\/strong>\u00a0 Give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.<\/p>\n What is your Mission?\u00a0 Please share your mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just imagine you are at a Chamber Luncheon and someone asks you “What is your mission?”\u00a0 If you can’t answer that question immediately and succulently all the fairy dust in the world won’t motivate people to follow you.\u00a0 Being the capitalist that I am, the unwritten ending to any for-profit business mission will be “and make money”.\u00a0 But what comes before needs to inspire and NOT rely on the charisma of the leader.\u00a0\u00a0A good mission will speak to employees, customers and stakeholders.\u00a0 Furthermore, I’m partial to mission statements that every employee can repeat easily.\u00a0 That means often less than 20 words.\u00a0<\/p>\n Remember, your mission is what gets you excited and energized each and every day.\u00a0 If it excites you, your staff will see your excitement and most will join in the adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are some for companies that I know and use:<\/p>\n Starbucks<\/strong>:\u00a0 to inspire and nurture the human spirit \u2013 one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toyota<\/strong>:\u00a0 To sustain profitable growth by providing the best customer experience and dealer support.\u00a0<\/p>\n DuPont<\/strong>:\u00a0 Sustainable Growth: Increasing shareholder and societal value while reducing our environmental footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n St Luke’s Hospital in Maumee<\/strong>: Improve your health and well-being by promising to put our Patients first. Always.<\/p>\n The Andersons<\/strong>:\u00a0 We channel our time, talent and energy in pursuit of fundamental goal of serving God by service others.<\/p>\n Ebay<\/strong>:\u00a0 global, social, and entrepreneurial trading that is enabled by eBay’s Internet ecommerce systems and services.<\/p>\n Amazon:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Our vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.<\/p>\n