Over the past few weeks, we have been talking about leadership – specifically vision and mission. Vision is the “Where” – it answers where we are going. Mission is the “Why.” Why are we going there? Why do we do what we do?

Many companies try to summarize this in a Mission Statement, and unfortunately, most of them are terrible.

The biggest problem: using a bunch of fancy words that don’t say anything. Like this one: “It is our mission to continue to authoritatively provide access to diverse services to stay relevant in tomorrow’s world.” That was actually created by a Mission Statement Generator on the internet – too many companies are letting those robots have a laugh at our expense.

It’s easy to get sidetracked and end up with a professional sounding and perfectly scripted mission statement that’s vague and unclear. No one will remember and eventually, no one will care.

Here’s a quick video on why Mission Statements can end up being so terrible.

Don’t try to say everything, and don’t try to please everyone. Change happens when leadership aligns the company toward a SINGLE goal.

Here are a few questions to help you FOCUS:

• What is your organization’s core idea? The “secret sauce” that drives what you do?
• How can you make it more concrete? Cut out the fluff and the corporate jargon
• And last: why should your employees care about it?

If you do this right, this statement has the power to rally people together and drive your business forward. It’s a declaration of the ONE THING you do that is unique and transformative.

Take some time this week to finalize your mission statement and share it with the world. And as we say on our podcast: make it matter.

Related posts:

Does Your Team Know Where You Are Going? How To Write Your Vision Script But Why? Mission: Possible