Why most mission statements are just fancy words that mean nothing
Mission statement 1
Our mission is to build unrivaled partnerships
with and value for our clients, through the
knowledge, creativity, and dedication of our people,
leading to superior results for our shareholders.
Mission statement 2
Our five values, which articulate what’s most important to us: What’s right for customers, people as a competitive advantage, ethics, diversity and inclusion, and leadership.
Mission statement 1 belongs to Enron, the company that became synonymous with corporate fraud in 2002 when its fraudulent accounting practices came to light and the company filed for bankruptcy. Thousands of employees lost their pensions and many more saw the value of their shares go south and till date, it remains one of the biggest collapses of all time.
Mission statement 2 belongs to Wells Fargo bank which opened bank accounts for its customers without informing them just to make more money.
So much for those fancy mission statements that promised to uphold values. I’m sure the person who wrote them had the most fun.
When companies defraud customers, cheat, lie, treat employees like rats on a hamster wheel, it’s very obvious they are not following any protocols and least of all, a flowery mission statement.
It’s easy to write a good mission statement/vision statement/manifesto. And yes, it does need to be lofty as it is supposed to inspire.
So if your organisation already has a mission statement or you are all set to draft a new one for your venture, consider doing one of the two things:
If you are beginning an entrepreneurial venture, don’t write a mission statement. Have goals, have processes, go about bringing to life whatever you have in your mind. After 3 to 6 months, the way you work will become clearer. Then iterate.
Why am I saying this?
Writing a mission statement isn’t that hard. Living up to it is extremely hard.
Let’s assume you start a small business. If you have written ‘we strive to provide our customers’ with the best possible service’ or some such platitude that populates most mission statements, and you aren’t in a position to help a customer who writes you an angry mail saying they are disappointed in your service, your mission statement is just a bunch of fancy words strewn together.
If you identify the problem and rectify it, you will be in a better position to say you put the customer first.
Another place where mission statements fall flat is in the gap between what they say about the company’s culture and the reality.
‘We put people first’
‘An open environment where every employee can strive to their full potential’
‘A safe space to explore and experiment’
You will find variations of these is many company manifestos. But a company where the leadership promotes a toxic culture can still have a fancy manifesto that promises a heavenly place to work.
Another way to go about this is to write a statement of how things are now.
What does this mean?
Write a statement that reflects the current reality.
‘We have lofty aims and ideals but haven’t been able to live up to them because of faulty processes and attitudes. Because of this, even our culture is partially broken and the people who work here aren’t empowered and most of them are looking for jobs elsewhere. While we have tasted success in bits, that is an exception more than the norm. We know which are the areas to work on and want to make a sincere effort to rectify things that aren’t working’.
Then write a goal statement as to where you want to be and how you intend to bridge the gap.
‘We strive to create an environment where people bring their best selves to work. This means creating a culture where people aren’t scared of sharing ideas and don’t need to constantly watch their backs to survive. While ‘work-life balance’ is a broad term, we will strive to ensure that our processes don’t lead to needless stress and burnout of our employees. And we are also aware that there will be people who don’t take kindly to this change in culture. After giving them some rope, we will guide them to an organisation that better suits their temperament’.
If you genuinely strive to act on your goal statement, no doubt your company will be in a better place after a reasonable time period.
Then write your mission statement.
When people have started to live parts of it, it will be more believable.
Even the best companies and processes have off days. A mission statement is a guiding light and it should tell you when you’re going way off track.
Having a mission statement for the sake of it is just a waste of time. If that’s the case, don’t even bother having one.
