What is a Mission Statement?
The definition of a mission statement is a concise description of your company's core purpose, answering the question, "Why do we exist" and is always written in the present tense.
You can think of a mission statement as a combination of:
What does your business do?
How does your company do it?
Why does your company do it?
Here is an easy step-by-step process to follow to create your company's mission statement.
A great mission statement is comprised of the following elements:
Open with: “Our mission…” you can drop it later and replace it with, “Acme Hardware’s mission…”
Verb: Use an action verb in the present tense.
For Whom: Describe who you do it for.
Result: What is the result or benefit from your work?
What You Do: Briefly state what you do and how.
STEP I- Describe What Your Company Does
What product or service does your business produce or provide? Get down to the bare basics, and don't add any filler.
Ex. My company's mission is to:
- Sell shoes
- Provide educational services
- Grow market vegetables
Just write down the bare bones.
STEP II- Add in a few Core Values
Here's what the first three examples from step one might look like when you add values to them.
Ex. My company's mission is to:
Sell shoes of the highest quality.
Provide educational services that allow all children to experience learning success.
Grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices.
Remember, these are not finished yet. There's one step to go before your mission statement is complete.
STEP III- Add Why Your Company Does What It Does
This part of your mission statement describes your spark—the passion behind your business. Why does your company do what it does? For some people, it helps to think back on why they started their business in the first place.
This is what our three mission statement examples might look like when you add "why" to them:
Ex. My company's mission is to:
- Sell shoes of the highest quality so every customer can find a pair of shoes they love to wear.
- Provide educational services that allow all children to experience learning success and become life-long learners and contributing members of our community.
- Grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices to give people safe and healthy food choices.
When you're finished, look at your mission statement and make sure to change the phrase "my company's mission" to your name.
"My company's mission is to grow market vegetables using organic, sustainable farming practices to give people safe and healthy food choices,"
The finished product:
"At Earth's Bounty, we grow market vegetables in a way that's good for the earth and good for the table.
Checklist for a Great Mission Statement
Your Mission Must Be Foundational. It clearly states why your organization exists.
✔️It’s Original. It’s unique to your organization. If you were to read the mission statements of all the organizations in your industry, yours would be different than your competition.
✔️It’s Memorable. Memorable = motivating to employees, prospective employees and customers.
✔️It Fits on a T-Shirt. Peter Drucker famously advised that your mission statement should be short and compelling enough to fit on a t-shirt your staff would actually wear.
Next Step
Once you've crafted your business's new mission statement, you'll want to put it to work right away.
You want your mission statement to be front and center in the minds of everyone who works in or interacts with your business. A strong mission statement isn't just a slogan; it's the foundation of your company.
Examples of Famous Mission Statements
- Virgin Airways: "Our mission statement is simple, yet the foundation of everything we do here at Virgin Atlantic Airways... to embrace the human spirit and let it fly."
- Tesla: "Tesla's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."
- Facebook: "Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."
- Starbucks: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time."
- Nike: "Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. (If you have a body, you are an athlete.)"
If you want to schedule a Free Business Health CheckUp, just click this button to get access to my calendar: https://calendly.com/bizcoachellie/ellie-marshall
What is a Business Health Checkup? It is a free diagnostic analysis of your entire company. Just as you get health checkups, your business needs health checks from an outside expert for you to review where your company is at, what your goals are and how you can reach them faster without wasting time and money. I also will provide you with free business strategies that will address your company's most pressing issues. You have nothing to lose!
- What does your business do?
- How does your company do it?
- Why does your company do it?