November, 2006

Mission Possible

Dust off that mission statement so that you and your team know where you’re going.

By Tom Fife

While presenting an employee motivation and retention program to regional managers of a very large lumber organization, I was not so pleasantly surprised at the answers to my first question of the day: “How many of you know your company’s mission statement?” No hands hit the air. I asked if anyone knew any part of it. No one said anything, and then a voice said that he thought it dealt with some price and service stuff! I asked how many of them considered themselves leaders and they all replied in the affirmative. I asked how leaders were going to lead their people to accomplish their mission when it wasn’t known to them and consequently couldn’t be taught to their people. I think you get the point.

 

Simply put, a mission statement is your business road map to success.

 

In it, the important aspects of your business are identified. It is:

 

•           What do you do, and how you do it

•           Who your customers are (remember to include the internal customers)

•           How your customers benefit

•           Your vision (values and goals)

 A mission statement should be concise and simple, as the mission must be, or people—employees and customers alike—will have difficulty identifying with it. If it is memorable and easily spoken, it will serve you well.

 

Too many times the mission statement of a business is constructed by a few folks at the top and is established without the interest or assistance of the workforce. Getting the workforce involved provides not only a better statement, but it will most often ensure the necessary buy-in that the business needs to fulfill the mission consistently.

 

A mission statement is not like a bathrobe, where one size fits all. It should be a living, working document. The Constitution of the United States is a great example of a working document that may need to be changed as the times change. Our Constitution has been amended a few times but it still remains a statement of our mission.

 

When in doubt, consult the mission statement to see if what is proposed will get you closer to or father from your goals. If the mission statement needs to be changed, just do it! There are many mission statements hanging around from the past that are just there because no one has re-addressed that part of the business. When was the last time you reviewed yours with the team? Does it need to be tweaked? Company, department, location or individual statements all can help set you up for clarity of purpose.

 

As a tool, a statement can:

 

•           Inspire and empower others

•           Coordinate efforts

•           Inspire loyalty and responsibility

•           Improve confidence and self-esteem

•           Bring about cooperation and teamwork

  Mission and vision statements are important in the short haul and critical for the long term to keep your and your team’s “eye on the ball.” No matter how good these statements are, they won’t do you any good stuck in a drawer or filed away, so keep it fresh and teach and train with the mission in mind.

 

Nothing much has changed about the value of the workforce in business since business began. To a large extent the employee is the business. A successful business will exhibit the same characteristics necessary for success as an individual.

 

A successful business has a solid mission and culture that is evident in the work output, the teamwork and the group “personality” of the entire operation.  The mission expresses a commitment to a loyal workforce, which is empowered to act with ownership and pride. It is a mission possible!

 

If I can help, just holler.