How to Write a Mission Statement for Your Business
Business is not all profit and expansion. As much as those help to sustain one, so too does having clear direction and values. Whether you’re starting a brand new venture or continuing one, something needs to band everyone involved—and that something is a mission statement. Besides the creation of a name, this is what prospective business owners need to focus more on while they’re still at the development process. Do not miss out on outlining the guiding principles of your fledgling company. Those without the knowledge or experience won’t have much to worry about after going through this blog post. We’ll make sure you get the help you need when it comes to creating your mission statement.
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How to Write a Mission Statement for Your Business
What is a Mission Statement?
To simply define it, a mission statement is a company’s overview of its core principles, values, and objectives. It is both the essence and the direction grounding all business operations. And what is a business without a direction to follow? There is nothing like having a concrete statement to set the path and the pace. Every company requires clear directions, which can be broad and specific depending on the circumstances. A mission statement can definitely provide that, and more. It will carry your business’ principles and show you the way you need to go, but it isn’t just something you can churn out casually. Dedication and careful planning is needed.
Why do Businesses Need a Mission Statement?
A mission statement is not a mantra to hang on the wall in any office. It has its purposes, which will prove useful. Below are important reasons for having one.
Create a Sense of Purpose
A sense of purpose can drive people to specific commitments. And without a goal or value to anchor on, one’s life is meaningless. Sooner or later, employers and employees will ask what their work’s value is. When they find it, it is even a great motivator compared to compensation.
Honing Goal-Driven Attitudes
Sometimes, figuring out which values to imbibe takes a lot of effort. You need the perfect slogan to encourage and remind people of the reason for working. Doing such can pump the steam for your employees to achieve the company’s vision. And what better way to get one’s self ready than by letting a person see where they are going.
Increase Work Rate
Although many reasons compel people to work, having the right cause can make them work more. But do not limit any business as a mindless routine because distaste would most likely occur. Tell your workers what they are up for and why. Engage them, and increased productivity is inevitable.
How to Write a Mission Statement
Knowing how to deal with tasks makes it a lot easier compared with no knowledge at all. Thus, this simple list will give you the much-needed support in making a mission statement.
Define Your Purpose
Any means will not appear on the radar if there is no purpose. Moreover, you cannot expect without setting the appropriate goals and values for your business. So have a serious chit chat or do the armchair reflection to get the purpose you need. When starting a business, having a list of purposes is a fresh start. However, pursuing a statement while continuing your business is a management necessity. Try asking a lot of questions like “what good is the business for the community?” or “what will become of all the employees in 5 years?”
Make it Specific
A vague statement is utterly useless. It will create confusion rather than having a direction to follow. Make your statements as clear as instructions, and do not leave it open to interpretations. Plus, they need to have the same seriousness as a detailed business agenda. Use precise language and the right words connoting specific actions and values. Do not be cryptic or poetic. Make the message straightforward and easy to execute. More so, keeping it simple for anybody to understand is critical.
Set Long Term Goals
Short term goals are for quick time fixes, but long term ones are for keeps. Make your statements stand throughout time, as it will be a hassle to change it all too often. Schedule a one-time big-time strategic planning session to finalize every bit of detail. Long term goals make workers continue to strive, customers to establish relationships, business partners to grow, and communities to develop. And if your goals are short-termed, so too are the benefits that come along in achieving them.
Keep It Concise
Statements that are short, brief, specific, and concise are easy to read and understand. Again, avoid being cryptic and poetic as goals, values, and principles need to be easily remembered and to live out. Make your sentences shorter and more straightforward but do not oversimplify to the point in creating misconceptions. It is better to start with an outline. Fill the gaps later on as you are going to make the whole piece. And always see to it that the details are coherent so that spelling everything out will be a cinch.
Describe What Your Business Does
Action speaks louder than words. However, words can speak out noteworthy deeds. Your mission statement is branding material. Once carefully crafted with wit, one-liners, easy to recall phrases, and meaningful sentences will be the perfect ad your business needs. Always make sure that what you say is what you do. Review your manuals and check your company’s operations so that you will have a basis. Promoting what your business does is even an integral part of an advertising plan.
Don’t Make It Too Limiting
Goals and values are not divine doctrines, and neither do they need to sound like a tight surveillance check. Getting the tone right to make it friendly and encouraging is crucial. You do not want it to sound like an angry boss. Amicability and straightforwardness will make it easy to follow and fun to do. A tight grip on your workers or a demanding tone to the community will send a negative message about your business. You need people to love what they are doing, and forcing them is not the way to go.
Notable Examples
Learning from the greats is one way to see the best examples to follow. Here are some of the mission statements of well-established companies.
“Do everything possible to expand human potential.” – Nike
Since Nike is a big sporting brand, what fitting way to tell the world that they support human potential. Shoes, clothes, bags, and gears are crucial for bringing out the best in every athlete and even the daily sports enthusiast. This statement sums up what the company does best and what it aims for its customers.
“To empower every person and every organization to achieve more.” – Microsoft
Microsoft is a huge name in the tech industry, with its leading software innovations. Imagine office tasks without the help of the company’s products. And think of a whole network of business groups without quick and easy access to documents and communication. Even a student needs a touch of Microsoft to get his or her projects done. And this statement is the perfect statement for what the company does.
“To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions. To create value and make a difference.” – Coca Cola
Popping up a bottle of coke on a hot summer day sounds refreshing. The mega-corporation known for its drinks wants to bring a smile to every consumer by pairing their family dinners and occasional gatherings with a glass or two. The company sees the value of every smile as profit and the drink for the thirsty. And your happiness and joy are Coca Cola’s concern.
Now and then, do find time to talk about your mission statement in your meetings and business proposals. And once you have the right one, it will serve as a suitable echo for the business’s reputation. More so, it will become a catchy tagline for customers and potential business partners. As you grow your business, give it meaning. Do always remember to add wit, reality, and an engaging tone in your checklist for a working and fitting mission statement.
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