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How To Write A Mission Statement
By Alan Leach
Most companies nowadays have some kind of mission statement. Visit any big company's website and this statement will be given pride of place. Essentially, a mission statement serves to remind both internal and external customers the basic reason for the company being in business. While learning how to write a mission statement is not easy, these steps should put you in the right direction.
Firstly, a good mission statement should be as brief as possible. Even huge multi-nationals are aware of the strength of a short, easy to understand statement that everyone can relate to. While there is no right length, some statements may even be as short as one sentence.
A mission statement should not only state where the company is now, but more importantly should serve as a signpost of where the company intends to go. As such, the mission statement is a clear and open expression of the future vision and strategy of the company.
Most companies are in business essentially for the pursuit of profit so when learning how to write a mission statement, thought must be given to how to relate to the needs and wishes of the customer. Your mission statement should therefore state explicitly which group of customers you are or wish to serve.
The same holds for the products and / or services your company provides. Companies that have a core product should state what this product is and mention the benefits of this. Companies in fast-changing industries such as technology should give a broader description of the products it delivers, with such phrases as "we will continue to deliver products at the cutting-edge of technological development".
There is a trend nowadays to keep options open, and not to limit the company to a specific field. When learning how to write a mission statement therefore, instead of stating your company sells telephones, describe your company as a communications company, allowing development of many more options than just telephones.
Social responsibility has been a business buzz word for some time now, and this key concept should be addressed when learning how to write a mission statement. Social responsibility includes how the company sees its relationships with not just customers and employees but also the wider national and even international communities. Hopefully, this should be more than just a public relations exercise and that the specific ideals set out in the mission statement are mirrored in company policies.
While keeping in mind the need to express the mission statement in clear and easy to understand terms, some thought needs to be given to the basic core philosophy of the company. While making money may be the key requirement, this in itself will do little to inspire others so attempt to analyze the basic motive of the company. What makes the company tick? Such philosophies may include the motivation to create a sense of community or to serve the customer with pride. Whatever philosophy your company has, it must be one that is shared by all.
Last but not least, the final step in learning how to write a mission statement is to show it to the stakeholders and ask for their reactions. Stakeholders here should include at a minimum the employees of the company. For this reason, the mission statement should be clear and easy to read, and should contain ideas and ideals shared by the company as a whole.
While knowing how to write a mission statement is not easy, a short, simple and clear statement will give all involved a clear idea of who the company is and what it is intending to do.
See Also:
More on mission statement writing
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