Wouldn’t it be great if you had documented a purpose, a plan for growth and targets, so that you can measure your achievements and plot your journey? It would be great if it could also communicate your brand and your organisations’ ‘personality’. Seems like a strange thing to say, but yes often brands develop personalities. Often people will continue to use a particular brand or label, even if it costs more because they feel akin to it. People like to do business with personalities rather than faceless teams, machines, buildings, locations or products. What’s your favourite supermarket, airline, label? I’m pretty certain your choice isn’t a purely a budgetary decision?
A mission statement is a simple statement that explains your company’s ambitions. It should communicate what your company does for its customers, employees, and owners. Where your materials come from and what your craft is. It explains what you do, what ethics your company has and the impact it wants to make for its community and stakeholders and sometimes even the world. A good one will create connections that people stay loyal to, for years.
Developing your company’s first mission statement, or writing a new or revised one, is your opportunity to define the company’s goals, ethics, culture, and norms and it is closely linked to decision-making.
The daily grind of business gets in the way sometimes, and a quick refresh of the mission statement helps you and your employees take a step back and remember what’s most important. Why not make sure you place your mission statement all over your premises, on your desk-tops, reception, meeting rooms and advertising, so your customers and employees can regularly take comfort from it!
It is quite likely, that after you set out on your mission you will want review it from time to time, aligning it to your progress and changes in your working world, or environment. So now you need to plan your strategy. Strategic planning will help you call out your specific, measurable objectives, who is responsible for each of them and the outcomes you expect. We talk about setting strategy and planning for success in the next blog.