Don’t Waste Your Breath, Make it Matter
Thousands of hours have been wasted talking about mission statements that are, quite frankly, boring. The best mission statements are both inspirational and to the point.
Mission statements are critically important to your organization because they drive alignment in your organization toward the vision of what you want to get done. That”s why it should be the inspiration that your organization rallies around. Unfortunately, many thousands of hours have been wasted talking about mission statements that are, quite frankly, BORING!
The best mission statements, on the other hand, are both inspirational and to the point.
Apple’s Mission Statement
Consider the example of Apple. When Steve Jobs started the now iconic company, his mission statement was: “To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.” Wow; that’s something I would get out of bed in the morning for.
But as much as Apple has contributed to the advance of technology, the company has come under increasing criticism that it has lost its way since Jobs passed away in 2011.
One of the changes the company has made in the years since is to change that original mission statement, which now reads like this: “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with the iPad.
Which mission statement do you prefer? While the newer version is very specific about what the company does, it certainly fails to meet the criteria I suggested earlier: it’s not inspiring and it’s certainly not brief and to the point.
Now compare Apple’s latest mission statement with some other major companies. For many years, Pepsi’s mission statement was: “Beat Coke.” That’s certainly simple and while it doesn’t get into the tactics of how they will fulfill that mission, it gives everyone in the organization a clear vision of what they need to accomplish.
Another great example comes from Medtronic, the medical device manufacturer, whose mission statement is: “To extend human life.” That’s an exciting mission and certainly something that is inspirational for anyone who works inside the business producing products like pacemakers and defibrillators.
But you don’t have to be a major corporation to have a great mission statement. I worked with a business that competed in the exciting field of humidity measurement. It’s not a big market, maybe $500 million in total, but this company established its mission as: “Global domination of the humidity measurement industry.” Not only is that clear and inspirational, but gives everyone plenty of scope for the business to aim at over the next several years.
What happens in situations like what we see with Apple is that you are trying to please everyone. You worry about offending someone or leaving someone out. But by trying to be inclusive and non-offensive, you lose that focus and inspirational tone you need for your mission statement to be meaningful. That then leads you down the path of a favorite quote of mine from the movie RoboCop where executive Dick Jones says, “Good business is where you find it”. It basically means, “We will do anything for anybody if we can make money”. That’s not too inspirational.
In other words, you chase every opportunity you can- which can be the worst thing for your organization to do. As I have written about before, your organization is actually defined by what you say no to.
Worse than trying to please everyone are mission statements designed by committees. Mission statements are also like strategy in that they are best done in smaller groups- preferably one using the seven plus or minus two rule. When you give the job of crafting your mission statement to a committee, you end up with boring, multi-syllabic paragraphs that say a lot about nothing, much like the one from Apple.
So take another look at your company’s mission statement. If you start yawning when you read it, it’s time to make a change by making it shorter, tighter, and more inspirational. Grab a small team- be bold, say no to lots of things, and inspire your team!
