A mission statement is an essential building block to developing a strong organizational culture. When a mission statement is well written, it can inspire a team and provide a unifying purpose.
Unfortunately, too many mission statements are poorly written and do little to help their organization. Below are three essential elements needed to create a mission statement that will have a big impact on your organization.
#1 Answer the Critical Question
First, the mission statement should clearly answer the question: why do people go to work each day at our organization? People need a clear purpose of why they do what they do at work. A mission statement should provide this clear purpose to align the team and guide their decisions.
#2 Clear
A mission statement needs to be very clear. Using words that nobody recognizes or having confusing run-on sentences is never a good idea. People should be able to read your mission statement and easily understand it without having to ask questions. The simpler and clearer a mission statement is the better.
#3 Concise
Finally, the mission statement must be concise. One sentence is ideal—two short sentences at the very most! The reason is because a mission statement ought to be easily repeated and memorized. A long drawn out mission statement is seldom remembered.
A great example of a well-written mission statement is Google’s. Their mission is, “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Notice how this mission statement meets all three of the criteria above. It answers the question of why people go to work each day, it is clear, and it is concise. Perfect!
A well-crafted mission statement will have a significant impact on any organization. If your mission statement does not meet the criteria above, then modify it.
Don’t underestimate the power of a well-written mission statement in helping you establish a strong company culture.
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