Quick, what’s your mission statement?
Bet you struggled with that, didn’t you? You’re in good company. Most leaders struggle to remember their mission statements. Why? Many are simply too long. One of our clients had a mission statement that was … drum roll please … 247 words long! How could you remember that? How could you possibly align your organization around a 247-word mission statement?
Even if they’re not too long, too many mission statements sound hollow. They recycle the same generic words. Superior value … blah, blah, blah … customer focus … blah, blah, blah … solutions … blah, blah, blah. All nice words, but they don’t say what you do, what business you’re in.
Your mission statement is supposedly the most important statement in your company. If you can’t remember it or if you wouldn’t use it in a real-life conversation, then get rid of it. If you don’t, your employees will think it’s a joke.
But without a mission statement, how do you convey what your company does, what it stands for, and where it’s headed? That’s the topic of next week’s blog.
Your thoughts?
Michael
