Exploring Mission Statements in ACTION

Animal Medical of New City's Mission Statement has actions that speak louder than words 

Striving for something more than our day-to-day existence feels great.  Getting out of bed early on your weekend to coach the kid’s baseball team; squeezing in 30 minutes on the treadmill to meet a health goal; making a difference…perhaps even randomly…by assisting a stranger with something they dropped are the substantive parts of our memory. These acts or thoughts, that exist above our efforts to just get-by, underlie our humanity and most importantly our individual sense of worth and goodness.

Company Mission and Value statements identify these higher-self goals that are important to us as individuals and deepen the value of our company to our clients, our employees and…if we’re able to truly realize these aspirations…the world.

Many organizations have taken the time to write Mission Statements, but fail to integrate them effectively into their day-to-day operations.  Take a moment and review the companies below that have shaped their workplace cultures, products, services and their community involvement around looming Missions and Values.  As you review each, ask yourself whether you’d be inclined to apply for a job with them; whether working there would be fun; whether you would work harder to help such a company be successful; whether or not customers would be more likely to enjoy the company’s products and services; and whether or not the company is more likely to be competitive.  

But don't stop there...companies that have successfully disseminated goals and values that extend beyond mere growth have set a tone for all decision making at the company.  These companies better understand what questions to ask when interviewing candidates, what to look for in resumes and behavior.  Their training programs are written and executed through the filter of underlying principals.  Stalemated management decisions can be resolved by examining the issue against the backdrop of the Mission.  One fine company even selected their stationary based on their Mission, deciding that if their values are to bleed through all they do, perhaps their Mission Statement should as well; so they selected a paper with their Mission Statement as a watermark.

Whole Foods:  Here’s a link to Whole Food’s Mission, Vision and Values page.  Take note of a plan that loans money to small-scale farmers to help them be more productive.  What kind of an impact does this outside-of-the-box thinking have on Whole Food’s supply chain? Its reputation in the community?  Its visibility?  In an age when some consumers are making drastic changes to their eating habits and life style based on sustainability, what does this move do to client loyalty?  How do you presume this idea came about?  Do you believe it was the brainchild of their CEO or a product of a brainstorming session in a management meeting?  What jump-started the thinking process?

Chipotle:  Their latest video has had over 6.6 million You Tube viewers and has been covered widely in global publications like the LA Times and the Washington Post. It has been identified as a ground breaking advertising campaign.  After watching the video, look at this clip that describes how the project was conceived.  Do the film producers identify the Chipotle Mission Statement as a source of inspiration for the film?  What about the advertising company; is there anything in the video that suggests that Chipotle’s commitment to its Mission informed which advertising firm to hire?

Apple:  In an article entitled Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, the choice to bring Steve Jobs back to Apple to replace it’s management board is cited as a game-changing milestone in the company’s journey to world-wide dominance.  With or without a Mission Statement, what is the impact of choosing a leader who deeply understands the company’s reason for being and who can bring the same largess of mind to its daily operations that it did to its company’s creation?

Samsung: In the 90’s Samsung paid some of its employees to move, live and immerse themselves in diverse cultures all over the world.  They didn’t have to work there; they just had to live and observe.  Their feedback helped Samsung understand the needs of people all over the earth. Years subsequent to this, Samsung embarked on a successful global marketing plan. The chairman of the time, Lee Kun-Hee was responsible for this novel decision. Do you believe that Mr. Kun-Hee intrinsically believed in the value of understanding a consumer and their needs?

Starbucks:  This company’s Mission is ‘to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time’.  Starbucks has a policy that everyone who sits in their café can have a free refill of coffee.  How does this business decision dovetail with their Mission?  Follow the Mission page link above and review the additional ways Starbucks brings their goals alive each day.

Calvert Investments:  While most of Wall Street’s financial companies are grabbing at financial goals, this company is underlining a set of very different values.  Review this company’s Mission and Values page.  Take a look at the picture that’s positioned at the top.  Where was this taken?  Who is in it?  Does this page present a company that is talking about responsibilities or acting on them?  What do their actions say to their employees?  To their clients?  Based on what you’ve read on this page are you more or less likely to consider their services?  Review the ‘five key strengths’ on the right side of their Mission and Values page, then follow through the hyperlinks.  Once you have reviewed each, ask yourself whether or not these five, ordinary terms they’ve listed have been thought through or only provided cursory consideration.  How did this company come to understand each of these strengths in the terms described?

While a successful Mission Statement might be difficult to articulate, its contents are already inside of you.  Stating what you want to accomplish is essential, but the words ultimately pale to the actions required to make your Mission live.   If you are struggling with finding the right words and phrasing to state your Mission, focus on actions within your company that might do the talking for you. Once you see these higher-self goals playing out, inspiration will teach you how to say them to the world.