How important is your Mission Statement

When an Entrepreneur makes the decision to start a business, whether product or service oriented, he Entrepreneur embarks on a ‘mission’ to meet a need, provide a service or find solutions to a problem.   To achieve this goal, he must coin a ‘statement’ of purpose that clearly explains the company’s reason for existing.  That declaration is defined as a ‘mission statement’ and it is designed to reflect the intentions of the company, what it wants to achieve, in what time frame and how these achievements can and will be made.

A formal definition of a mission statement is a sentence describing the company’s function, markets and competitive advantages or a short written statement of the business’s goals and philosophies.  In that context, it is fair to surmise that a company’s mission statement, whether written or not, is an important tool that provides direction for the company and its employees, fulfills a purpose and gives the business an identity.

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A properly conceptualized mission statement addresses its stakeholders, corporate and social issues and philosophical momentums of the company.  It defines every action that is taken by the company and should not be confused with sales slogans or the company’s motto.

So what are the critical elements of an effective mission statement? Business scholars offer the following fundamentals; value, inspiration, plausibility and specificity.  The belief is that the Entrepreneur should be able to formulate in a concise statement which conveys the value of their company, inspire and encourage employees, sound reasonable and plausible, while being as specific as possible.  The idea of the mission statement is to encourage entrepreneurs to find a key theme for their company, and to make sure each of these components revolve around it.

Importantly, the mission statement should not be confused with the vision statement.  The vision statement focuses on the potential in the company’s future.  It has references to how the company intends to make that future into a reality.

A mission statement is important to a business as it acts as an anchor to keep the business on track.   A well-crafted mission statement provides the focus and motivation needed to take the business to the next level.  It gives the company direction so that it will define the customer base, target and identify the right customers.

In developing your company’s mission statement, you should ask some relevant questions:

-           What do we do?

-           Who do we want to do it for?

-           Why are we in this industry?

-           Why did we start this business?

-           What image do we want to convey?

In writing the actual statement, the entrepreneur should use vibrant and exciting words.  The intention with the mission statement is not to have it written in the business plan only or sit on the walls of your offices.  The statement is to have such a profound meaning to all the stakeholders that it inspires action with a view to achieving company goals.  

Describe your purpose using unusual, colourful verbs to add vim and vitality your statement.  Keep the mission statement short but ensure that it feels good when you read it and say it.

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