Drew,
Recently read a great book by Jeffery Gitomer entitled, "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." He also brought up the point that customers don't care about your mission statement or policy--they only want a solution for their problem. He also wonders out loud how many top-level executives--let alone all the underlings--can recite the company's mission statement verbatim.

Our company's mission statement is actually easy to remember--though I'm not convinced my coworkers know it:

Happy Customers. Happy Employees.

Unfortunately, I doubt if people are using the mission statement as the fulcrum of whether something is done or not. But that isn't really a reflection of our company just how such statements have lost signifance over the years.

Drew,

I agree Mission Statements should be bold but I disagree that they differentiate us. Our Value Proposition is the statement that describes how we are special/different.

A Mission Statement should define why we exist and it often is more than a simple statement.

I encourage my clients to create a Mission Statement that includes the company's core values and its core purpose. The values are the filters through which all decisions must first pass, and the purpose states clearly why the business exists.

As always, a provocative post, Drew. It inspired a follow-up of our own on some of the biggest blunders companies make in developing mission statements- confusing missions with visions, creating missions that are too broad, and writing missions that don't align with corporate goals.

Michael,

I think Gitomer's point is well taken, to a certain degree. I do think our customers want to know what we stand for -- what sword we are willing to fall on.

I believe most people think of their mission statement as primarily an internal document. Although more and more are using them as a marketing tool. I wonder if the shift to using them as a marketing tool coincides with the neutralizing of any true message? Maybe companies got scared when they realized people outside the wall were going to see it?

How does your company embody the Happy Customers. Happy Employees message?

Drew

Lewis,

A great case in point. I think that's part of the problem. Everyone has created their own package of statements. Some have a mission/vision/values combo. Others go with the mission/brand promise duo. And within each of the groups -- everyone is defining the terms differently.

Don't you think that some of the confusion and interchangeable jargon filled statements are a result the lack of clarity?

Drew

Todd,

I'm curious -- what do you believe causes all the confusion and net result of bad/ineffective mission statements?

Drew

The post that Todd referenced is a great extension of this conversation. Check it out at:
http://www.thescienceofmarketing.com/index.php/branding/mission-statement-make-it-possible/

Drew,

Yes. Everyone does it differently, but since Mission Statements are internal documents, I think they should be customized to fit the culture. Share Value Propositions externally but keep Mission Statements as internal communications and there should be no confusion. That, of course, assumes most understand how to create a Values Proposition statement, and in my experience, most don't. Maybe you should follow this up with a post on Value Propositions.

A couple of previous commenters alluded to vision statements. Can anyone explain succinctly the diff. between a mission statement & a vision statement?

sorry, looks like Todd addresses my question on his blog.

Lewis,

I think that is sort of my point. We say "a mission statement is an internal document" as though that is a common definition or understanding but I'm not sure it is.

How would you define the difference between a mission, vision, values and brand statement/promise?

I would guess that there are 3-4 interpretations of those items and how they are interwoven. Which I believe contributes to the trouble.

Drew

Drew,

I think some of the other comments in this thread highlight a major source of confusion: companies have been interchanging vision statements, mission statements, goals and brand promises for a long time now. Without solid definitions, it's difficult to write any of these things down. I differentiated mission and vision statements in my post, but I'm sure there's room to beef these up.

I think another problem is that companies often don't write their mission down at all, so it becomes a moving target. Maybe they don't see the value, maybe they don't want the headache that comes with agreeing on heavy stuff. In any case, it seems that most organizations are not aligned on what they're trying to accomplish. And to me, that's a lost opportunity.

Great discussion. I've spent many years working on the inside of the nonprofit sector where mission and vision statements are crucial organizational components. They help organizations stay on track and give them a foundation from which to question every venture and direction to see if they align with the mission. The buzz word there is "mission-centered."

In my opinion, it is the vision statement that has greater value for both internal and external audiences. It identifies what the organization wants to be or do and provides the spark for action.

In one job, I created a designed 4-color poster with the mission, vision and values statements and had them framed and hung on strategic locations in all our office locations, visible to staff and visitors. It set the tone up front and acted as a reminder to staff.

One caveat... a wonderfully written mission and vision statement does not make for a wonderful organization. The corporate culture and senior management must ensure that they walk the talk or it's just camouflage.

Todd,

I think you're right. I believe there are multiple "definitions" of each of these interwoven "statements" which only adds to everyone's confusion.

I also think that most companies don't want to use definitive language to describe themselves because it's scary to be that bold and precise. And if they aren't clear on some of these basics, then the conversations get pretty uncomfortable pretty quickly.

No wonder most companies choose the Dilbert version!

Drew

Elaine,

Do you think the whole mission/vision statement exercise is easier for a non-profit because they are so "mission-centered?"

It seems to me that by default they have done the hard work that most for profits struggle with -- defining their purpose.

We've encouraged some of our clients to use their defining documents as "art" throughout the office too. It does serve as both a reminder to those who already know about them and makes an very explicit promise to those who read them for the first time.

I love your last point. Ah, if only it were as easy as "put it on the wall and voila, you actually become it."

Drew