My all time favourite quote is from French Mathematician and Physicist Blaise Pascal, who wrote to a friend “If I’d had more time, I’d have written a shorter letter”.
In it, Pascal cleverly illustrates the challenging art of concise communication, emphasising that brevity requires more thought and time than brain dumping a bunch of words onto a page.
Nowhere in business, is this quote more applicable than when writing your mission statement.
A mission statement is the backbone of your brand's identity. It answers the fundamental question: "Why does your business exist?"
The Mission of Your Mission Statement
- To Act as the Foundation of Your Brand Strategy
Your mission statement acts as a north star, guiding your marketing strategies to customer service policies. It ensures consistency in your brand's message and actions.
- To Act as a Tool for Internal Alignment
It aligns your team with a common goal, fostering a sense of purpose and direction. When your employees understand and believe in your mission, they are more likely to work cohesively towards achieving it.
- To Communicate Your Purpose to the World
Externally, it tells your customers and stakeholders what you stand for. This clarity helps in attracting and retaining customers who share your values and vision.
Famous Mission Statements
Tesla: "To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."
Why It Works: It's ambitious, clear, and focused on a significant, transformative goal. It directly reflects Tesla's commitment to sustainability and innovation in the energy sector.
LinkedIn: "To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful."
Why It Works: This statement is clear and directly speaks to the platform's core function – professional networking. It also highlights the value proposition for its users.
Google: "To organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
Why It Works: It clearly defines Google's core business – organising information. It's ambitious yet achievable and highlights the value for users.
Why Mission Statements are USUALLY a Waste of Time
On paper, a Mission Statement sounds amazing. In practice though, they’re usually a waste of your time and resources. Whilst business greats such as Richard Branson and the late Steve Jobs wax lyrical about the value of a Mission Statement, most small business owners don’t have brand teams to sit and think for hours about their companies mission. On top of this, they usually get it wrong.
Effective mission statements are clear, specific, and reflective of the company's unique value proposition and goals. In contrast, poor mission statements often suffer from vagueness, overuse of jargon, and a lack of differentiation.
I cannot count the number of times that I’ve asked a client about their Mission Statement, only to be sent something like “To be a global leader in customer value” or “To be the best (insert industry) company in the world.” Whilst bold, they’re vague and could apply to any company in any industry. They lack specificity about how the company creates value or what sets it apart.
Another one I’ll see might read something like “Our mission is to leverage our synergistic, industry-leading portfolio of assets to deliver shareholder value while upholding the highest standards of corporate governance." These statements are jargon-heavy and focused more on corporate buzzwords than on a clear, engaging purpose or the value provided to customers.
Critics of Mission Statements
Peter Drucker, a renowned management consultant, educator, and author, known as the 'father of modern management,' was critical of overly complex and vague Mission Statements that failed to provide clear direction. He emphasised that a mission should fit on a T-shirt, meaning it should be concise and practical.
Donald Miller, the author of "Building a StoryBrand" and a marketing expert suggests that companies should focus on creating a simple statement that clearly explains how they help their customers. Miller emphasises that a mission statement should be customer-focused, addressing their needs and how the company can solve their problems, rather than being a self-centred declaration of the company's goals or values.
What To Do Differently
In his book “How to Grow Your Small Business”, Donald Miller suggests that your mission statement should have three things:
1. A Clear Economic Objective: This involves stating a specific, measurable goal that has a direct impact on the business's financial performance.
2. A Deadline: The mission should have a specific time frame within which the goal should be achieved. This creates a sense of urgency and focus.
3. A Reason Why the Mission is Important: This element connects the mission to a larger purpose or value, explaining why achieving this goal matters.
I find that this approach is more useful for smaller businesses with under 50 staff. It’s tangible, easy to understand and easy to get behind.
A Quick, Easy Framework Anyone Can Use to Build a Practical Mission Statement
A good framework that anyone can use to craft their mission statement is as follows:
Today when [who], want to [outcome], they have to [current situation].
This is unacceptable because [problem].
We envision a world where [solution]. We are bringing this world about through [how]. In doing so we will [financial goal] by [timeframe].
I then take paragraph 3, massage it a bit and it becomes my mission statement.
Is it the most elegant framework in the world? No. Is it necessary to massage paragraph 3 at all? Also no. Does it get the job done as painlessly as possible? Yes.
You can download the workbook that accompanies this exercise below
Let’s do it.
An Easy, Step-by-Step Process to Craft Your Mission Statement
Step 1: Identify Your 'Who'
Objective: Define the target audience or beneficiary of your business.
Questions to Consider:
Who are your primary customers?
What specific group does your business serve?
Why does this group need your product or service?
This step is absolutely critical. If you do not have a clear ideal customer avatar and you don't really, truly understand their pain points, potential objections and how you solve for them, your Mission Statement and almost all of your marketing efforts will ALWAYS fall flat.
Step 2: Articulate the Desired Outcome
Objective: Determine what your customers ideally want to achieve.
Questions to Consider:
What are the main goals or desires of your customers?
How does your business help in achieving these goals?
What lasting impact do your products or services have on the customers?
Ask yourself how strong your offer is? If you haven't spent time and energy really thinking about your offer, now is the time.
Step 3: Describe the Current Situation
Objective: Highlight the existing problem or challenge your customers face.
Questions to Consider:
What are the current barriers or issues that prevent your customers from achieving their goals?
What is the typical experience for customers in your industry?
How do these barriers impact the customer’s decision-making process?
Step 4: State the Core Problem
Objective: Clearly express why the current situation is unsatisfactory or unacceptable.
Questions to Consider:
Why is this situation a significant problem for your customers?
How does this problem affect their life or work?
What are the broader implications of this problem in the industry or community?
Step 5: Define Your Vision (The Solution)
Objective: Illustrate the ideal scenario or solution your business offers.
Questions to Consider:
What unique solution does your business provide?
How does your solution improve the customer’s situation?
What are the unique benefits of your solution compared to the current market offerings?
Step 6: Explain How You Will Achieve This (The How)
Objective: Detail the methods or strategies your business will use to realise the vision.
Questions to Consider:
What are the key actions, services, or products that your business will use to solve the problem?
How does your approach differ from others in the market?
What innovative methods or unique perspectives does your business bring to the table?
Step 7: Define Your Financial Goal (The Financial Objective)
Objective: State a clear, measurable financial aim linked to your mission.
Questions to Consider:
What specific financial target does your business aim to achieve?
How does this financial goal support your broader mission?
What steps will you take to ensure the financial goal aligns with your mission and values?
Step 8: Set a Deadline (The When)
Objective: Establish a timeframe for achieving your mission.
Questions to Consider:
By when do you aim to achieve your mission?
How will this timeframe influence your strategies and actions?
Step 9: Crafting Your Mission Statement
Final Task: Combine your answers into a cohesive statement.
Example: Today when [small and medium-sized businesses], want to [effectively communicate their brand online], they have to [rely on inexperienced freelancers or generic content mills].
This is unacceptable because [it results in uninspired and ineffective web copy that fails to convert their ideal customer]. We envision a world where [every business, regardless of size, has access to high-quality, brand-centric web copywriting].
We are bringing this world about through [expertly crafted, high converting website copywriting that reflects each brand's unique voice and values]. In doing so, we will [increase our annual revenue by 40%] by [the end of 2025].
The Result
"We're on a mission to lift the net profitability of SMEs via razor-sharp, high-converting, personality-filled website copy that is so authentically THEM that it makes business owners cry with joy. Our goal is to achieve $1 million in revenue by end 2025"
By following these steps, you'll create a tangible mission statement that your customers, employees and suppliers can understand and rally behind.
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