It was my first day at Panera Bread. After grabbing a fern green apron and name tag, I sat with the other new hires in a brightly lit conference room, listening to the manager explain the company’s values—natural ingredients, every customer is family.
I remember feeling inspired (and hungry for pastries). But a few hectic days of working the register and sandwich line at the fast-paced restaurant put the company values out of mind.
This feeling is not uncommon. The everyday concerns of work quickly crowd out the lofty goals set in mission statements.
Is this a bad thing? No. However, putting mission statements to work may help us make decisions quickly and accomplish more together.
Challenging the mission statement status quo
Corporate mission statements can be relatively formulaic because the statements usually follow a common series of questions:
- What is our business?
- How are we doing it?
- For whom are we doing it?
- What are our core values?
These questions are a fine starting point, but the answers run in danger of being too vague by trying to appease everyone (all customers and stakeholders). For example, “We provide great service through our many capabilities to meet our customers’ needs. Our core values are trust, hard work, and cooperation.” This could apply to virtually any business.
Compelling mission statements, in contrast, evoke emotion and action with simple and specific words. Here are several uniquely inspiring mission statements:
“Our mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.” -Nike
“To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” -Starbucks
“Spread ideas.” -TED
Nike, Starbucks, and TED have brief, memorable, and actionable mission statements. Nike’s statement elevates both the everyday jogger and the Olympic sprinter. Starbucks reminds us of the universal pleasure of a hot beverage. TED’s statement has a double meaning: we share ideas, and you can, too.
Mission statements can do more
Effective mission statements can serve as powerful unification and decision-making tools that change how executives and employees think. Following mission statements can help companies work toward higher goals, retain employees during difficult times, and find new opportunities.
In Made to Stick, authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath describe the decision-making power of simple statements. Part of Southwest Airlines’ mission is to be a low-cost aviation provider. When a regional manager had to decide which meal option to serve travelers, she relied on the mission statement to make the best choice for the company: the lowest-cost meal.
Mission statements don’t have to be short to be effective. One of our clients, a healthcare provider, considered expanding their services in a different space. They used their hefty mission statement (several sentences and bullet points) as a cornerstone of their new project to preserve the identity of their original service in the new offering.
Although the client’s mission statement was long, it was also very specific. The detail helped prove to investors that the company was not following trends but continuing along its trajectory of helping more people become healthy—just in a different way.
Making the most of your mission statement in 2024
The new year is a perfect opportunity to dust off your mission statement and consider how it can guide your work. One way to make the most of your mission statement is to combine the lofty goals with more short-term ones. You could ask:
- How do my goals for this quarter align with my company’s mission?
- How does my daily work support my company’s broader goals?
One of our clients incorporates its mission statement directly into its content—often in a call to action. Weaving their mission into their content builds brand recognition and shows a commitment to big-picture thinking. The reader isn’t just learning about how a product solves their needs but how this company, in particular, is working to solve their needs.
Mission statements don’t have to be static. If you are in a position in your company to alter the mission statement, you could start by investigating how your business has changed in the last year. Consider:
- Conversations with clients or staff that made you rethink the “why” behind your company
- How your mission statement aligns with recent business decisions
- If your company’s broader role has shifted with changes in customer demand
My 2024 goal? To be more mindful of why I write: to make sense of the world around me and help clients market their products and services to those who need them.
Interested in learning how to use your mission statement in your content? Let’s talk.
One Reply to “”