What is the purpose of a company mission statement?
A corporate mission statement is an essential ingredient to the success of your
company. It gives everyone, from top management, to the employees who work on the
assembly line a clear sense of direction. They know where to focus their attention.
And because they know where to fix their attention, they can help you create the
desired outcome your corporate mission states.
Just imagine if you were the captain of your own ship. At any given moment, your
ship has a direction and a destination. Either she’s sailing to a predetermined
port of call, or she’s in port, getting ready to sail to another one. If anyone
asks you where your big, far-sailing ship is going, you can tell them instantly
-- and in one sentence. A corporate mission statement is similar.
In her article, Seven Essential Steps to Creating a Plan for Success, in AdvantEdgemagazine,
Terri Lonier, writes, "To begin, you must clearly identify and express the
purpose of your business. The essence of this should be done in one very specific
sentence. The form of the sentence is very clearly defined. It states what you do,
and who you do it for."
"The statement of purpose will be repeated again and again
over the life of your business, and especially during the first few months as you
solicit funding from suppliers and customers. Once you have the statement honed
razor sharp, it becomes useful in other ways. A marketing slogan or even the basis
of a whole marketing campaign might come out of your statement of purpose."
"The second part of your business plan is an extension of the first part of
your purpose statement. It’s a concise but accurate description of your
company that answers questions such as: What type of business is this?
Who runs it? Where is it located? What are its unique features? What is the history
of the business?"
"Writing this section can be fun because you can really think about the focus
of what you intend to do. Specifically, you’ll describe how narrow or how
broad the focus of your company will be. Having a strong idea of your business focus
will help you to avoid the distractions that often appear in the early phases of
an entrepreneur company."
"When we created our mission statement for AdvantEdge magazine, we
put our money where our mouth is and used Terri’s article to guide us. Interestingly,
just as Teri predicted, our mission statement became more than just that... it became
a key piece of ALL our marketing materials as well as lead to our tag line, 'Get
the Edge at Work and in Life!'".
Example of a corporate mission statement—from an airline that’s respected
for their company direction and their employee culture
Company Mission Statement of Southwest Airlines:
“The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of
Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride,
and Company Spirit.”
Company Mission of Southwest Airlines to their Employees:
“We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with
equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are
encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees
will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization
that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.”
How to create your corporate mission statement
We at the Nightingale-Conant Corporation (the world
leader in motivational audio programs since 1960), in conjunction with Success Skills
Coach, Jim Rohrbach, have developed a free Build My Mission Statement
process at the following site:
Our free Build My Mission Statement
tool makes it easy for you to put your corporate mission statement together. It
prompts you to type in the goals and visions for your company as required in a simple
step-by-step process. You can even use our Build My Mission
Statement tool to put a personal, professional, relationship, spiritual
and family mission statements together.
Every individual in your company, especially the CEO and top management
should each have a personal mission statement.
Perhaps no one explains the reason why better than
Stephen Covey did in his book,
7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book, Stephen says:
“If you don’t set your goals based upon your Mission Statement, you
may be climbing the ladder of success only to realize, when you get to the top,
you’re on the WRONG BUILDING.”
To ensure your team and upper management are in the right building, you can email this page to them. Help them get involved in the process.
Share your corporate mission statement with them. Let them see the direction your
company is headed in. If they like the direction your company mission is aimed towards,
you’ll have such a tremendous force of people working towards a common goal.
Where do you put your corporate mission statement and personal mission statement
once it’s complete?
What you DON’T want to do is put your corporate mission statement or personal
mission in a desk somewhere. You must look at these mission statements every
day. For instance, you can tape your personal mission statement onto
your home mirror so you see it every day. For your corporate mission statement,
you want to ensure everyone in your company -- your current customers, investors
and all new prospects -- know what your company mission is. And you want to make
it easy for people to know what your company mission statement is. For instance,
you can:
- Include a link to your company mission statement, from your homepage.
Or, include your company mission in the About US section of your company’s
website.
- Include your company’s mission statement on your marketing materials,
press releases, or the Letter to Stakeholders.
- Get your company mission professionally designed, printed, and
then hung on almost every wall of your company—from the ground floor, to the
top floor.
The idea here is to make your corporate mission known. Do not hide it.
Example company mission statements
1. General Electric’s mission:
GE does not have a mission statement, per se, but when asked, "What can GE
do for you?," here is their answer:
"From jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and
medical imaging to news and information, GE people worldwide are dedicated to turning
imaginative ideas into leading products and services that help solve some of the
world's toughest problems."
2. Nightingale-Conant corporate mission statement:
"To be the preeminent publisher and provider of self-improvement resources
that inspires and empowers individuals to lead the lives they most desire"
3. Nike’s corporate Mission Statement
"To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
4. Microsoft’s corporate mission statement:
"To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full
potential."
5. Amazon.com’s mission:
"Amazon.com seeks to be the world’s most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online at a great
price."
source: Amazon.com's Investor Relations website.
6.AdvantEdgemagazine:
"Our mission is to continually connect you with the world’s most powerful
success information, giving you the Edge at work and in life."
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