[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done hundreds of mission statements for myself and clients. In the beginning my mission statements were too complicated, long and hard to understand. After years of not using mission statements because no one could understand them I finally got it right.<\/p>\n

Writing a mission statement doesn\u2019t need to be complicated. You just need to have a little less than one hour and be willing to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror. If this is you, then read on.<\/p>\n

LET\u2019S START WITH A DEFINITION OF WHAT HAS TO BE IN A GOOD MISSION STATEMENT.<\/h2>\n

A good mission statement has two parts to it. It has to be a short statement about what your company does and it has to be able to be answered with a yes or a no.<\/p>\n

The yes or no is to tell you whether you\u2019re moving towards fulfilling your mission or not. It\u2019s a great way to tell you and all who work with you whether you\u2019re doing the right things.<\/p>\n

ALWAYS START WITH VALUES.<\/h2>\n

When you develop a mission statement start with the values your company holds dear. I recommend that you make sure you pay attention to what your personal values are as you examine your company values.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll likely come up with a list that has 10 to 20 values to consider. From this list you want to reduce your value list to no more than five and all five must be only be core values.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll do this by labeling all of your values on your list. The four labels you\u2019ll use are:<\/p>\n

\n
• Core values \u2013 a value that exists in your company and is core to your success.<\/li>\n
• Aspirational values \u2013 A value that you would like to have in your company but doesn\u2019t exist today.<\/li>\n
• Permission to play values \u2013 A value that exists most of the time but there are times you let the value go.<\/li>\n
• Accidental values \u2013 Values that have made it into your company culture but you would rather not have it be part of your company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  (Thanks to Patrick Lencioni for creating the four values.)<\/p>\n

  YOUR NEXT STEP<\/h2>\n

  Now that you have identified five core values you can start putting together short sentences that bring your company\u2019s core values to life.<\/p>\n

  For example in my company our core values are personal responsibility, simplification, honesty, creativity and wisdom. When I look at these values it\u2019s easy for me to then make the jump to helping private business owners create a sustainable business.<\/p>\n

  If I\u2019m going to be successful in doing this I must be personally responsible for how the engagement goes. I have to make it simple or needed changes will never be adopted. If I\u2019m not honest and authentic, you won\u2019t believe anything I say. I always have to be creative in what works for each client. Using my 40 years of experience and taking the wisdom I\u2019ve learned helps create a great outcome.<\/p>\n

  MAKE SURE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT HAS MOVEMENT IN IT.<\/h2>\n

  A great mission statement always has movement. It must be active and it must have a way for you to know whether you\u2019re fulfilling your mission or not.<\/p>\n

  Here are some of the mission statements I\u2019ve used in companies I\u2019m involved with:<\/p>\n

  \n
  1. Providing quality food service at a reasonable price.<\/li>\n
  2. Helping to make our clients lives better.<\/li>\n
  3. Helping private business owners create a sustainable business.<\/li>\n
  4. Doing interesting things with interesting people \u2013 My personal mission statement.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     When you look at the above mission statements you\u2019ll see that all of them have movement and all have a value system behind them and all of them are less than ten words long. It\u2019s also easy to figure out whether I\u2019m fulfilling the mission or not.<\/p>\n

     BE WILLING TO EXPERIMENT.<\/h2>\n

     While you\u2019re creating a mission statement make sure you\u2019re willing to try all sorts of statements out.<\/p>\n

     If you find that your mission statement starts to describe the activities your company does, then it\u2019s not a good one. If you find that your mission statement can\u2019t be answered with a yes or a no, keep working.<\/p>\n

     They key here is to think about how your mission statement will be used. You want to make it easy to integrate in all parts of your business. In short order you\u2019ll be able to ask anyone in your company what the company mission is and everyone will be correctly tell you what it is.<\/p>\n

     MAKE SURE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT CAN BE USED BY ALL OF YOUR STAKEHOLDERS.<\/h2>\n

     This is key. Your mission will definitely be used by the company. It\u2019ll be used by all of your employees when they think about whether they\u2019re doing a good job. It\u2019ll be used by your suppliers when they think about the types of products they should be selling you. It\u2019ll be used by your advisors when they provide advice to you.<\/p>\n

     Most importantly, your mission statement will be used by you. You\u2019ll use it to examine whether your company is true to your mission. You\u2019ll use it to examine whether your outside advisors are helping you make your company better based on delivering on its mission. You\u2019ll uses it to figure out whether you have the right people in your company.<\/p>\n

     If your mission statement can\u2019t be used by all your stakeholders, keep working. It\u2019s really a pretty simple process. Just ask yourself how each stakeholder group can rally around your mission to make your company better and ultimately sustainable.<\/p>\n

     HERE\u2019S YOUR NEXT STEPS.<\/h2>\n

     All of this should take you no longer than one hour. I\u2019ve done over one hundred mission statements with people and it\u2019s never taken me even close to an hour. It\u2019s not rocket science, but having a clear and compelling mission will make your business better.<\/p>\n

     Now that you have a mission statement, your next step is to integrate your mission into every area of your company. Just sit down with your senior management team and help them think about how they\u2019ll use the mission statement in daily conversations at least five times per day.<\/p>\n

     Like all habits, it\u2019s going to take a while to put this one in place. You\u2019ll need to be persistent in asking those who report to you how they\u2019ve used the mission statement every day. In a short time you\u2019ll find that people start thinking about their behavior at your company in ways that make your company a better place to work and one that\u2019s better to do business with.<\/p>\n

     How does that sound?<\/p>\n

     [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

     \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>

     \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> I\u2019ve done hundreds of mission statements for myself and clients. In the beginning my mission statements were too complicated, long and hard to understand. After years of not using mission statements because no one could understand them I finally got it right. Writing a mission statement doesn\u2019t need to be complicated. You just need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

     I\u2019ve done hundreds of mission statements for myself and clients. In the beginning my mission statements were too complicated, long and hard to understand. After years of not using mission statements because no one could understand them I finally got it right.<\/p>

     Writing a mission statement doesn\u2019t need to be complicated. You just need to have a little less than one hour and be willing to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror. If this is you, then read on.<\/p>

     LET\u2019S START WITH A DEFINITION OF WHAT HAS TO BE IN A GOOD MISSION STATEMENT.<\/h2>

     A good mission statement has two parts to it. It has to be a short statement about what your company does and it has to be able to be answered with a yes or a no.<\/p>

     The yes or no is to tell you whether you\u2019re moving towards fulfilling your mission or not. It\u2019s a great way to tell you and all who work with you whether you\u2019re doing the right things.<\/p>

     ALWAYS START WITH VALUES.<\/h2>

     When you develop a mission statement start with the values your company holds dear. I recommend that you make sure you pay attention to what your personal values are as you examine your company values.<\/p>

     You\u2019ll likely come up with a list that has 10 to 20 values to consider. From this list you want to reduce your value list to no more than five and all five must be only be core values.<\/p>

     You\u2019ll do this by labeling all of your values on your list. The four labels you\u2019ll use are:<\/p>

     • Core values \u2013 a value that exists in your company and is core to your success.<\/li>
     • Aspirational values \u2013 A value that you would like to have in your company but doesn\u2019t exist today.<\/li>
     • Permission to play values \u2013 A value that exists most of the time but there are times you let the value go.<\/li>
     • Accidental values \u2013 Values that have made it into your company culture but you would rather not have it be part of your company.<\/li><\/ul>

       (Thanks to Patrick Lencioni for creating the four values.)<\/p>

       YOUR NEXT STEP<\/h2>

       Now that you have identified five core values you can start putting together short sentences that bring your company\u2019s core values to life.<\/p>

       For example in my company our core values are personal responsibility, simplification, honesty, creativity and wisdom. When I look at these values it\u2019s easy for me to then make the jump to helping private business owners create a sustainable business.<\/p>

       If I\u2019m going to be successful in doing this I must be personally responsible for how the engagement goes. I have to make it simple or needed changes will never be adopted. If I\u2019m not honest and authentic, you won\u2019t believe anything I say. I always have to be creative in what works for each client. Using my 40 years of experience and taking the wisdom I\u2019ve learned helps create a great outcome.<\/p>

       MAKE SURE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT HAS MOVEMENT IN IT.<\/h2>

       A great mission statement always has movement. It must be active and it must have a way for you to know whether you\u2019re fulfilling your mission or not.<\/p>

       Here are some of the mission statements I\u2019ve used in companies I\u2019m involved with:<\/p>

       1. Providing quality food service at a reasonable price.<\/li>
       2. Helping to make our clients lives better.<\/li>
       3. Helping private business owners create a sustainable business.<\/li>
       4. Doing interesting things with interesting people \u2013 My personal mission statement.<\/li><\/ol>

          When you look at the above mission statements you\u2019ll see that all of them have movement and all have a value system behind them and all of them are less than ten words long. It\u2019s also easy to figure out whether I\u2019m fulfilling the mission or not.<\/p>

          BE WILLING TO EXPERIMENT.<\/h2>

          While you\u2019re creating a mission statement make sure you\u2019re willing to try all sorts of statements out.<\/p>

          If you find that your mission statement starts to describe the activities your company does, then it\u2019s not a good one. If you find that your mission statement can\u2019t be answered with a yes or a no, keep working.<\/p>

          They key here is to think about how your mission statement will be used. You want to make it easy to integrate in all parts of your business. In short order you\u2019ll be able to ask anyone in your company what the company mission is and everyone will be correctly tell you what it is.<\/p>

          MAKE SURE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT CAN BE USED BY ALL OF YOUR STAKEHOLDERS.<\/h2>

          This is key. Your mission will definitely be used by the company. It\u2019ll be used by all of your employees when they think about whether they\u2019re doing a good job. It\u2019ll be used by your suppliers when they think about the types of products they should be selling you. It\u2019ll be used by your advisors when they provide advice to you.<\/p>

          Most importantly, your mission statement will be used by you. You\u2019ll use it to examine whether your company is true to your mission. You\u2019ll use it to examine whether your outside advisors are helping you make your company better based on delivering on its mission. You\u2019ll uses it to figure out whether you have the right people in your company.<\/p>

          If your mission statement can\u2019t be used by all your stakeholders, keep working. It\u2019s really a pretty simple process. Just ask yourself how each stakeholder group can rally around your mission to make your company better and ultimately sustainable.<\/p>

          HERE\u2019S YOUR NEXT STEPS.<\/h2>

          All of this should take you no longer than one hour. I\u2019ve done over one hundred mission statements with people and it\u2019s never taken me even close to an hour. It\u2019s not rocket science, but having a clear and compelling mission will make your business better.<\/p>

          Now that you have a mission statement, your next step is to integrate your mission into every area of your company. Just sit down with your senior management team and help them think about how they\u2019ll use the mission statement in daily conversations at least five times per day.<\/p>

          Like all habits, it\u2019s going to take a while to put this one in place. You\u2019ll need to be persistent in asking those who report to you how they\u2019ve used the mission statement every day. In a short time you\u2019ll find that people start thinking about their behavior at your company in ways that make your company a better place to work and one that\u2019s better to do business with.<\/p>

          How does that sound?<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-strategy"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/winnersedgecoaching.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}