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Inspiring Company Mission Statements

11 min read

A mission statement says more about a company than any logo or brand name ever could. Think of a mission statement as the expression “a picture speaks a thousand words.” When it comes to any company, a mission statement speaks volumes about how a business truly conducts itself. Often referred to as a vision statement, mission statements encompass the morals, values, and vision of a company all in one.

A mission statement not only serves to express a business’s values and vision to customers and clients, it also impacts the efficiency, effectiveness, and happiness of employees.

Many companies revisit their mission statements often for rebranding purposes. However, any reputable business understands that mission statements are the foundation of a company. A mission statement should embody your company’s vision from day one and be impervious to rebranding.

Understanding the Complexity of Mission Statements

As many know, and few fail to comprehend, the socio-economic climate is constantly changing. This means that companies must be open to change, rebranding, etc. However, this doesn’t mean that mission statements should be altered regularly. A business’ mission statement should encompass its vision from day one and essentially be future-proof.

Before we cover the intricacies of mission statements, like what does future-proof mean and how can I create the perfect mission statement, we should first go over what a mission statement is and what it can do for a business. Let’s get started.

What Is a Mission Statement?

A mission statement can be viewed as a logline, a master plan, an ultimate goal, etc. In essence, a mission statement is a sentence or paragraph that fully encompasses the morals, values, ethics, and vision of a business. Given the ever-growing relevance of proper branding, mission statements are often overlooked in order to chase profit. This is the best way to run a business into the ground.

If you want your business to be reputable and professional, it’s essential to create a mission statement that encompasses not only your goals, but captures your motivation behind achieving those goals. Ultimately, there is a lot that goes into creating the perfect mission statement. Be sure to take the following into consideration as you create your business, rebrand, or expand!

Mission Statements & Vision Statements: Is There A Difference?

Mission statements aren’t only meant to embody your goals, morals, values, and ethics. The most important thing that your mission statement describes to customers, clients, and employees is the vision for the company. Mission statements and vision statements are often considered the same and different at the same time.

Ask yourself this: “Did my mission create my vision?” Or, “Did my vision create my mission?” Whatever the case, inspiration is at the heart and soul of the origins of any business. So, whether these two questions are the same essentially doesn’t matter. Both originate from inspiration to achieve aspirations.

How Do Mission Statements Work?

With all of this in mind, creating the perfect mission/vision statement does require some time, effort, and reflection. Any business owner or founder should dig deep within themselves in order to discover what drove them to create their business/product in the first place.

Chances are that if the original motivation was strictly for a quick profit, the business will fail. Granted, all businesses are created to make profit, but it is the companies that seek to achieve more and leave more behind that truly become successful. Here are a few examples.

Microsoft

To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft

Microsoft is currently valued at approaching $2 trillion. Notice how Microsoft’s mission statement does not mention any of their products or software. This is because mission statements should encompass the vision, goal, and values of a company in a short logline. The end goal of creating a mission statement is to express the “why” of a business. Microsoft achieves that in spades.

Square

Everyone should be able to participate and thrive in the economy. Square

Square’s POS systems and online payment platforms carried many individuals and businesses through the pandemic. Much like Microsoft’s mission statement, Square expresses their “why.” And Square knowingly provides software and equipment that provides for those who have struggled given the economy’s recent pitfalls. Essentially, Square’s mission statement aims to produce simple and cost-effective payment products for who they serve, regardless of where the market takes it.

Target

Help all families discover the joy of everyday life. Target

This mission statement encompasses Target’s goals, values, ethics, morals, and vision all in one sentence. In terms of the company’s ultimate goal, it’s plain to see: offering an abundance of affordable necessities. The company clearly values their customers, considers all customers and families of equal importance, strives to provide happiness, and wants to create a welcoming environment for all. This mission statement can also easily extend to the facts that Target focuses on giving back to the community and seeks to create a positive employee experience. As mentioned earlier, your customers shouldn’t be the only ones who are inspired by a company’s mission statement.

Creating the Perfect Mission Statement: Three Things to Keep in Mind

When creating the perfect mission statement or vision statement, there are many key things to consider. We’ve managed to boil down these integral factors into three things to remember when creating a mission statement. As always, remember to keep in mind your reasoning for starting your company, and let your morals, values, and ethics intertwine with your reasons.

Embrace your customers

As seen in the mission statement examples mentioned above, the key focus has been the customer. Whether your ideal customer base consists of families or specific individuals, it’s important to appeal to their humanity. This essentially means creating a general logline that establishes a business’ understanding of what matters most to the general public. Addressing individuals as a community, rather than individuals, helps to create a sense of cohesiveness that will subconsciously translate over to what a business truly believes in.

Notice that products are not mentioned once in any of the aforementioned mission statements. This is because your mission statement should embody the fact that the customer, whoever they are, is the lifeblood of your business. By appealing to the humanity of your customers, you create a desire for them wanting to be a part of your vision. That said, always be sure to be general in your mission statement while capturing what you value: the customer.

Embrace your employees

Customers aren’t the only ones who will take pride in being a part of a business with an ethical and well-thought-out mission statement. Employees simply work harder, better, and more efficiently when they enjoy where they work. This means creating an environment that not only welcomes customers of any walk of life, but employees as well.

Employees are the face of a business, and by creating your mission statement properly, you can adequately decide who is the right fit to represent your business. In totality, your mission statement should appeal to everyone’s humanity, not just your customers.

Brace for the future

Mission statements should be future-proof. This means that a mission statement should be carefully crafted to embody a company’s goals and vision. By creating a mission statement that speaks to the humanity of individuals while establishing goals, and the reasoning behind those goals, your statement can be future proof. Whether you’re rebranding, expanding, or just starting your business, your mission statement should remain the same in order to comfort your customers and your workers.

Ready to Begin Your Journey?

Understand which mission statements work and why, how to create the perfect mission statement, and what to consider when crafting a mission statement. Then, you can guarantee you’re pointed toward success for your business.

By creating a general roadmap/goal for your company through your mission statement, you can build off of it. You can create the ways your business goes about certain things that are in line with not just your values but with standard values and morals that the human race holds dear. These include liberty, freedom, empathy, and compassion. If you can make your brand seem more human rather than industrial, you’ll be surprised at the success you can garner.

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Feb 19, 2022

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.