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Business Plan: Mission Statement
Every business needs a purpose that says what it is and a vision that describes what it
wants to be. This purpose and vision come together in the mission statement. A mission
statement then becomes the starting point for the development of business goals, and
goals are the basis for setting measurable project objectives and corresponding metrics.
Since it all starts with a mission, this is obviously a critical part of creating your business.
The purpose of this lesson is to assist you in writing a mission statement for your
simulation business. The lesson describes a mission statement through a list of
characteristics and examples and provides instructions to develop a mission statement.
The lesson outline is:
What is a Mission Statement?
--Mission statement characteristics
--Mission statement examples
How to Write a Mission Statement
What is a Mission Statement?
A mission statement is a declaration of what a business aspires to be. The statement is the
business' reason for being, a proclamation of why it exists, a clarification of who it
serves, and an expression of what it hopes to achieve in the future. A carefully crafted
mission statement accurately describes the business and inspires the people who
contribute to its success.
Just as important as the mission statement itself is the process of writing the statement.
This process helps a new or established business clarify questions such as:
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What business are we really in?
What type of business do we want to be?
What is our target market?
What inspires us?
The writing process and the statement itself both provide clarity of purpose and
motivation for business success.
Mission statement characteristics: A mission statement has the following key
characteristics:
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Visionary: Above all else a mission statement offers a vision of what a business
aspires to be. A visionary mission statement helps people understand what the
business is about and how they can contribute to the achievement of the vision. So
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mission statements frequently contain wording such as "to be the best", "the
highest quality", and "in the world".
Broad: A company cannot be all things to all people, but a mission statement
should not limit a company's area of service or expertise too narrowly. Especially
in the fast-paced world of electronic commerce, customer needs, and customers,
can change rapidly. A mission statement should be broad enough to allow the
company to meet those needs without annual revisions of the statement.
For example, the original mission of classmates.com was to reunite classmates in
American high schools. However, the business quickly found a market in colleges
and universities as well, and then the military and the workplace. Soon
classmates.com found it was not in the classmates business, it was in the personal
networking business. CEO Michael Schutzer acknowledges that he would choose
another name, and a broader mission, had he started the business today. "Our
business is more than high school reunions," he says. "It is a personal network for
reconnecting people." (Dot-com Content that Works?)
Realistic: The broad vision needs to be tempered with realism, to be both practical
and workable. Mission statements that include everything or over promise will not
give a clear indication of what the business is about. A lofty, unrealistic mission
statement will not have great credibility. Instead the best statements are direct and
powerful.
For example, in October 2002 Microsoft changed its mission statement from "To
empower people through great software -- any time, any place, and on any
device" to "To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their
full potential". The new mission statement is certainly broad enough, but is it
realistic? Does it overpromise? Does it give any indication what Microsoft is
about? Most mission statement writers would think the new mission statement is a
step backward, using the criteria listed here.
Motivational: The statement should be written in such a way that it inspires
commitment among employees, customers, partners, and funding agencies about
what this company will do or produce. Some organizations emphasize the
inspirational value of their mission statement above all else, using it to express the
company's philosophy and values.
Short and concise: The mission statement should be no longer than 25 words.
Some consultants recommend that the mission statement be short enough that an
employee can easily remember it and readily repeat it. Similarly, management
guru Peter Drucker suggests it should be able to fit on a t-shirt.
Easily understood: The statement should use plain language that is convincing
and easy to understand. For example, a technology company's mission statement
should not include jargon or technology concepts that are unfamiliar to people
outside the area. Consider using the "grandmother test" on your mission statement
-- would your grandmother understand what your company is about if she read
your mission statement?
Most, if not all of these characteristics are reflected in Purma Top Gift's mission
statement: "The mission of Purma Top Gifts is to be the world's premier retailer of top
quality Purma-made gifts and souvenirs."
Mission statement examples: Sometimes the best way to understand what is a mission
statement is to see what other companies have selected as their mission statement.
Obviously you should not copy another company's mission statement because you lose
the benefits the process provides, you will want to distinguish yourself in the
marketplace, and you violate that company's copyright on its mission statement.
However, exemplary mission statements can suggest wording or an approach that you
may want to use.
Here are some mission statements from real companies and organizations:
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McDonalds: "McDonald's vision is to be the world's best quick service restaurant
experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service,
cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile."
J. Sainsbury: "Our mission is to be the consumer's first choice for food, delivering
products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through
working faster, simpler, and together."
Success Networks: "Our mission is to inform, inspire, and empower people and
organizations to be their best -- both personally and professionally."
Big Binoculars: "Our mission is simply to offer our customers the most binocular
aperture, at the highest quality, for the lowest price."
Levi-Strauss: "We will market the most appealing and widely worn casual
clothing in the world. We will clothe the world."
OHCHR: "The mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to protect and promote all human rights for all."
Now that you know what a mission statement is, how do you develop one for your
business?
How to Write a Mission Statement
An existing, large, corporate organization needs a lengthy, highly consultative process to
create or revise a mission statement, as described in How to Develop a Mission
Statement. A small business owner also needs to consult with employees and customers,
in a process similar to one outlined in Build the Perfect Mission. Really serious mission
statement writers would benefit from The Mission Statement Book which includes over
300 exemplary mission statements and several chapters that offer guidance about how to
write a mission statement. For the purposes of this lesson -- writing a mission statement
for your simulation business -- the process described below will be satisfactory.
The place to begin is to realize that the process of writing a mission statement is an
inclusive process. All members of the simulation business team must be involved in the
process. Even if someone thinks they are unable to contribute, essential buy-in to the
concept will be insured if their opinion is solicited at every step.
A good place to start is with the vision part of the statement. In a brainstorming exercise,
conduct the following exercises to clarify what you and others intend for the business to
be:
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List 5-10 words or phrases that describe your business. Highlight the three most
important.
List 3-5 words or phrases that describe the company's ideal image from a
customer's point-of-view.
List 3-5 words or phrases that describe the company's ideal image from a
management and employee point-of-view.
This vision must be tempered with a focus on the purpose of the business:
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List the market opportunities and/or customer needs that your company intends to
address (e.g., the business' value proposition).
Who are your customers? List the company's primary and secondary target
markets.
With your customers in mind, list each service or product your business will
provide.
List 3-5 measures of your business' success.
These exercises will provide you with the raw material necessary to write a mission
statement.
If you are working in a group, you may find actually writing the statement in a group
exercise can be difficult. Instead each member of the group should write a draft statement
which is shared with others in a meeting to decide on the mission statement. It is unlikely
any individual's statement will meet with instant approval. Instead the team should, in an
open and consensus-seeking discussion, look for the best parts in each nominated
statement and craft them together into a statement most members can support.
Another key point is that this process can produce more than a mission statement. Much
of this work can be used in writing business goals as well. Also you may find that a
nominated mission statement doesn't work as a mission statement, but would be a good
motto, slogan, or advertising tagline. Companies also sometimes use this process to
develop two mission statements -- one for external use to customers, suppliers, and
others, and an internal mission statement that is posted prominently around the workplace
for employees. For example, McDonalds has extracted the words "quality, service,
cleanliness, and value" from their mission statement (listed above) and made them a key
part of each employee's orientation.
COB Old Vision Statement: To provide quality, professional business
education for the people of the State of Alabama and the Region.
COB New Vision Statement: To be among the elite public business schools in the U.S.
COB Mission Statement: The College of Business is dedicated to producing
highly‐desired graduates and generating knowledge that drives business thought and
practice.