Yesterday I posted a quote about the importance of having a mission. Today I’m going to talk about mission statements.
The purpose of a mission statement is to describe an organization’s purpose. It’s about your why.
Mission statements came into being to act as a guide to help managers, employees and stakeholders come together toward a shared philosophy, culture and strategy for success. Today they are more often used as PR devices.
Mission statements are incredibly hard to write. Sadly far too many of them are hard to read.
Research on mission statements from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario estimates that only 10 percent of mission statements say something meaningful. The rest are mainly jargon-filled word salad.
Even the definitions of a mission statement I came across in my online searches were filled with platitudes and circular sentences that made my head hurt.
I’m not here to tell you how to write a better mission statement. Google will provide you with plenty of resources for that. Or better yet, hire a professional.
What I’m here to tell you is that you shouldn’t let challenge of writing a mission statement keep you stuck. When you want to engage your audience there are other ways to communicate your why.
The most direct and most sincere way to communicate your why is to tell your story. Stories are human. Stories make you relatable. Stories have the power to move others.
Speak from your heart. Tell your story. You can always add that mission statement to your website and marketing materials later.
So let me ask you, can you think of a mission statement that you’ve read that really moved you?
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