Tightrope: Here's a mission for you -- make a great statement
— -- A written statement that expresses the collective intention of your company is usually called a mission statement.
So, what condition is your mission statement in? Do you have one? Have you seen it lately? Are your employees aware of it? Are both you and they working to fulfill the mission statement?
Or, is the idea of writing and implementing one something you have put on the back burner with a promise to yourself to "get to it" one day soon?
Several weeks ago, I was asked to provide coaching and motivational sessions for an educational organization. I met with the president, whom I will call Mr. Adams, and his vice president, Mrs. Hanna. After an hour of discussion I learned that employees were not getting along with each other, not doing their work well and, above all, not paying attention to Mr. Adams' directives.
To help me design a program specific to the needs of the company, I asked Mr. Adams if I might look at the organization's mission statement. That request found him staring at me as if I had made the request in Latin.
After a brief silence, he responded that he had been in his job for three years and had not seen the mission statement, nor had he thought of developing one.
That admission left me wondering how many other leaders and entrepreneurs are in a similar situation and perhaps don't even know of the importance of a mission statement.
It can make a world of difference in productivity and profitability. It states the principles and beliefs of your company and what it hopes to achieve. It gives your employees a sense of direction, while inspiring and motivating them in their work. And, it articulates to your customers the essential nature of the company.
A good example is the mission statement of Pittsburgh's Port Authority Transit Co., where I served as a board member. When I was there, its statement (since changed) was: "to provide clean, safe and affordable public transportation."
Sharon, my daughter, who has a second business as a PartyLite Candle & Gift consultant, says her mission statement is "Decorate, Celebrate, Illuminate."
