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Nightingale-Conant presents Tom Gegax

MISSION: CRITICAL

Picture a general addressing his nervous troops on the eve of a decisive battle. He implores them to fight fiercely for the honor of everything and everyone they hold dear. He stresses that the safety of their loved ones rests on how courageously they perform on the midnight battlefield. Then the general strides over to a second group of soldiers and orders them to conquer the enemy or die trying. The objective, he thunders, is to earn him that elusive fifth star and secure a heftier pension. It's a safe bet the first group of soldiers will hit the battlefield with a steely resolve to give their all. It's just as certain the second bunch would rather smash rocks in the hot sun than put their leader's objectives ahead of their own self-interest.

The do-or-die spirit of an army unit is the essence of what an enlightened executive must instill in the men and women under his command. That lofty goal is attainable, but only if the answers to three fundamental questions are clearly articulated, strategically disseminated, and consistently reinforced:

1. Why does the organization exist?
2. Where is it going?
3. How does it need to act to get there?

The answers to these questions must be precisely expressed and held with conviction throughout the culture. "Conviction" is the operative word. If a company's mission, vision, and values aren't genuinely believed and championed by top management, they're just words on paper. Ah, but when conviction is convincing, the organization rises above the sum of its parts and produces inspired employees. Until it clicked into place at my company, I never would've believed how much passion and creative energy could be unleashed when mission, vision, and values are moving in sync. The change is palpable. It's also contagious. When you hit your mission, you're symbolically "pouring the foundation."

Sure, The Mission Statement is Business 101 — something most companies have in place. But is it working? In so many seat-of-the-pants outfits it's often just slapped together, a generic, white-bread substitute devoid of motivational nutrients. Or, tons of time has been invested only to produce something too complicated to be memorable. Even if a mission statement jumps those hurdles, it often hasn't been integrated effectively into the culture. Take a look at your mission statement. Is it on the front or back burner of people's minds? Does it drive your company's culture and inspire employees? Or, is it brought out like a what-were-they-thinking wedding gift that sees the light of day only when the in-laws visit?

A mission statement is fundamentally immutable. Carve it in granite and display it behind unbreakable glass. Market forces, business strategies, and senior management may shift, but a good company's core purpose is timeless. Through boom and bust, 3M's mission will always be "To solve unsolved problems innovatively." Likewise, even when aggressive competition impacts Sony's marketing tactics, its mission remains "To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public." These missions don't reference profits or shareholder value. Their purpose is to inspire people to throw themselves into the work they love and make a difference in the world.

The power of a well-stated mission lies in its unifying effect. Like a maestro, it directs everyone to play the same song at the right tempo and in the right key. Without a codified mission — or when a mission statement gathers dust like a gold-plated plaque in some long-forgotten storeroom — exuberance and gusto give way to inertia and apathy.

MISSION IN MOTION
Embodying Your Mission Statement

"To help restore people to full life." That's the essence of Minneapolisbased Medtronic's six-part, 171-word mission. It's also the mantra Ann Krzmarzick heard in each of the eight interviews she endured to become a communications specialist at the worldrenowned medical technology company. It was a test of sorts. If Medtronic's mission didn't resonate, the human resources manager told her, she should look elsewhere for employment. Ann smiled and nodded. It was a catchy sound bite, but she figured it would have about as much impact as a bumper sticker on her day-to-day duties.

She figured wrong. Ann quickly discovered that those seven words were the beating heart of Medtronic's corporate body. "I didn't realize," she said, "that the light of that mission would shine so brightly on the everyday work in communications, given that we're fairly removed from direct patient care." The mission was consistently — almost reverently — referenced in every meeting and memo. It informed every decision at every level. It even reached all the way to the annual holiday party, where six bona fide patients share their stories of heartache, hope, and renewal. There's never a dry eye in the house. Surveys reveal that nearly every one of Medtronic's twenty-six thousand employees knows the company's mission statement and how it applies to his or her job. The employees are inspired because they know their work makes a big difference in people's lives. Is it any wonder that Medtronic always appears on Fortune magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For?

I was the CEO of the $200 million Tires Plus before I sold it in 2000 to Bridgestone/Firestone. We expressed the guiding principle of our company's existence through our 13-word mission: "Deliver caring, world-class service to our guests, our community, and to each other." A noble sense of purpose was essential for attracting quality employees. Most people consider working in the tire business only a little more appealing than getting a root canal. The industry is often thought of as dirty, unprofessional, and sometimes even dishonest. So why would people come work for us? Not to sell tires, but to improve the lives of customers, employees, and the world at large. After all, it's people, not tires, that make the world go round.

As any CEO should, I served as a walking advertisement for our mission statement, as illustrated by this story offered up by my co-founder, Don Gullett. Don, whose development department was in charge of remodeling and upgrading our stores, chartered a small four-seat aircraft one day so that he, a contractor, a real estate agent, and I could visit all four of our stores in and near North Dakota. We landed in Fargo first and rented a car. "As we were driving into the parking lot of our store there," Don recalled, "Tom jumped out while the car was still rolling, ran over, and started talking to two people. The three of us just looked at each other, wondering what he was doing."

I had spotted the couple coming out of the store and had sensed by their expressions that they weren't happy. I asked if there was a problem. (There shouldn't have been, because a big part of our mission was empowering store employees to resolve customer complaints.) I found out what they were upset about, got them to walk back inside, got it resolved, and turned them into happy customers. "It would have been very easy for someone in Tom's position to have remained in the car until we had finished parking," Don noted. "But by the time we had gotten out of the car and into the store, those people would have driven off. So Tom jumped out and went out of his way to introduce himself and correct the situation. I'm sure he left a lasting impression on that store's personnel, not to mention those customers."

Our corporate commandment — Thou shalt be caring — was like a global positioning satellite that helped our people navigate the choppy waters of day-to-day decision making. More important, it helped managers identify and capitalize on "coachable moments" — instances when an employee's actions conflicted with our mission. For instance, our follow-up system required us to contact customers not more than 48 hours after providing a price quote. On a regular systems-review visit to a suburban Minneapolis store, I checked the phone log and saw that a teammate was skipping the follow-up call. It turns out he hadn't been properly trained and wasn't sure how to do it. So I spent some time teaching him the ropes. When it was time for him to make an actual call, I listened in.

The woman he called told him she had opted to buy new tires from Firestone. "Oh, that's too bad," he said. "You really missed out." After he hung up, I said, "Wow, you basically told her she made a bad decision. How do you think that made her feel? Do you remember what our mission is?" He stammered, "To give caring, worldclass service to our guests?" I asked if that phone call was consistent with the mission. He acknowledged it wasn't. "If somebody tells us their needs were taken care of," I said, "our reply should be, 'I'm glad you got what you needed. Your car is safer and will handle better now, and that's what's most important. Next time you're in the market, we'd love to have another opportunity to serve you.' " I stressed that alienating a potential customer today means we're also slamming the door shut on future sales. But that's not why people should be treated with respect. When you genuinely care about their well-being, without regard to expectations and outcomes, the goodwill generated benefits everyone.

We upheld our mission statement's integrity just as vigilantly for our "internal customers." If an employee treated a colleague rudely, I challenged him. I wanted amends made and behavior corrected immediately. "How would you feel if somebody treated you that way?" I'd ask. "How would you react?" I'd remind the offender in no uncertain terms that our mission called for everyone in the company to deliver caring service to each other, and that caring about and being of service to others was what we were all about.

Emphasizing worker civility isn't just the right thing to do. It's also practical. The average Fortune-1000 boss spends 13 percent of his or her time refereeing his or her staff, according to a study by the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Do the math. That's seven squandered weeks every year, a crippling price for neglecting to put your manners where your mission is.

RETOOLING YOUR MISSION

If your company's mission is in mothballs, I have two words: huge opportunity. Reigniting your mission can set off sparks that fire up the whole team. Stir things up at the next executive-team meeting. Ask if anyone can state the mission from memory, or at least its essence. If the executives can't, chances are no one can. And that means your mission registers a big fat zero on the inspiration scale.

Looks like it's time for an update. First, convene a brainstorming session with top brass. The leaders (hopefully) have an innate sense of the company's purpose. Start by describing what your company offers. Ask, "Why is that important?" Challenge what the group comes up with, asking again and again, "How does that help our customer?" Go deeper still until you finally punch through the brick wall of logic and tap into people's hearts. After five or six iterations — the whole thing could take two or three sessions — odds are you'll nail the essence of why you're in business.

Now, it's tweak time. Create opportunities for every employee to pitch in. Reach out to resident wordsmiths and deep thinkers by posting drafts of the mission wherever people will see it— elevators, bathrooms, paycheck envelopes. Send it out in an email blast. Call a companywide meeting. Tell people how to submit their ideas. Getting everyone involved — and assuring them that all suggestions will be valued — builds trust and teamwork. Before you know it, a wellscrubbed mission statement will be hanging on your office wall, and in your teams' hearts and minds.

TURNING VISION INTO REALITY

Championing your mission statement was a good start. Now that everyone's on board the mission train, how do you keep everyone on track without derailing into complacency or chaos? And how can they pick up a head of steam while they're at it? Hitch up the engine to the ol' Double-V — vision and values. Unlike your mission, which states your firm's purpose, a vision statement asserts where your company is headed. And a statement of operating values spells out the personal traits required of you and your employees to achieve your company's mission and vision.

Imagine you've just received an advance copy of Business Week. The cover date is 10 years in the future. To your delight, the cover story features your company. Before you riffle through the pages, pause for a moment. What would you like that article to say about your company — its image, its culture, its values, its accomplishments? This future description of your company is your vision.

• Use it as a litmus test in one-on-one and group meetings: "Is this in sync with our mission?"
• Ask people to commit it to memory. At team meetings, randomly call on someone to recite it. Reward a correct answer with a gift certificate.
• Hold an annual team meeting to make everyone aware of the company's mission and how it meshes with his or her daily routine.
• Hold an essay contest with a topic like, How our mission helped me make an important decision. Or, How our mission inspires me to give my best. Or, simply, What our mission means to me. Post the entries on your intranet or bulletin board and award a prize to everyone who enters.
• Start a "Mission Mentions" section in the company newsletter to officially recognize employees for embodying the mission through words and deeds. At smaller shops, low-tech bulletin boards work just as well as high-speed e-letters.
• Post a suggestion box and solicit comments about how the company can follow through on its mission.
• Encourage employees to speak up if they run into circumstances that clash with the mission. Make various reporting channels available.

© 2008 Nightingale-Conant, Inc. All rights reserved.