This the second of my two part series on creating Vision and Mission Statements and will cover
crafting an effective Mission Statement.
Should a Mission Statement be a detailed document that clearly describes the organization? I
once saw a statement that was only slightly less lengthy and detailed than the company's annual
report. It was a gold mine of information about what the company did and how each step was
accomplished. It laid out the company's values and described each goal. It was essentially the
entire strategic plan (plus some). How many of the company's employees knew the mission
statement? Not many! If you have a Mission Statement like that, take it off the walls and your
web site, shred the paper it's printed on and put it on a compost pile. It might help grow flowers,
but it won't help grow your business. Though the Mission Statement is a critical part of the
strategic plan, it is not the strategic plan.
Every organization needs a basic statement that clearly describes for its members, suppliers and
customers why the organization exists. The statement expresses the organization’s purpose but to
be effective it must be easy for all to remember, using a limited number of meaningful, well
chosen words.
Everything else in your strategic plan will support the mission statement, so don’t be shy about
stating the true purpose of the organization. If you are a business, then profit is most likely a
reason you exist. Some businesses try to craft a Mission Statement that glosses over or even
ignores the fact that they exist to make money. When you’ve drafted your mission statement, ask
yourself this: “Will this grow the bottom line and if not, is it something for which I'm willing to
sacrifice profit?” If your organization is subordinate to a parent organization, make sure your
Mission Statement is in line with the parent’s mission. That doesn’t mean you have to use the
same statement. Ideally, yours should represent a segment of theirs.
There are many ways to approach development of a Mission Statement but I've found one to be
most effective. First, gather your leadership team to take advantage of expertise from each area
of the organization. This team approach will not only ensure that the Mission Statement is allinclusive
(not lengthy but complete) but will also cement your leadership team's involvement
which will pay off when it's time to communicate the strategic plan to the organization.
Have each member of the leadership team write down several things their particular part of the
organization does. These should be short two or three word phrases. Then, have each member
state their first phrase. Continue around the group until everyone has exhausted their list.
The next step takes a little practice. The team must agree to group the individual phrases into
categories. There will always be an outlier or two, but most of them will naturally fit into a few
general categories. You must deal with the outliers first. Discuss among the team members
where the outliers might fit or whether they should be a category of their own. Once this is
determined, you will have a smaller group of categories. It's these categories that will provide the
basis for the mission statement.
The categories are then molded into the mission statement. Avoid the temptation to include
involved descriptions. Instead carefully choose words that define the categories. This is another
place where the team approach is an advantage. Remember, the ideal Mission Statement should
convey the organization's mission in a way that everyone involved will remember. The Mission
Statement is useless if everyone in the organization can't recite it (or at least get close) and, more
importantly, explain their part in accomplishing that mission.
Does your Mission Statement accurately convey the mission of the organization in a clear and
concise way? Do the members of the organization really understand the mission and their part in
its success?
Bob Mason is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and president of RLM Planning and Leadership, a
consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses meld smart strategic planning with leadership
excellence. His book, Planning to Excel; Strategic Planning that Works, due to be released this
spring will have a more detailed description of mission statements and their relation to the
strategic planning process. To learn more visit http://www.planleadexcel.com and download the
first chapter of his book.
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