How to Write a Mission Statement

Have you ever been to a small business and noticed a ridiculously long mission statement posted on the wall?

You know, the kind that guarantees perfect custom service on top of solving world hunger? As noble as that may be, I’ve yet to see a car repair service meet those expectations.

Photo Credit: Bracketing Life

When I set out to write the mission statement for my personal life, (which doubles as the mission for jeffsanders.com) I wrote over one hundred variations until I settled on a stellar formula.

How to Write a Mission Statement

Mission statements don’t have to be hard, but they may be difficult if you don’t know what you have set out to do.

Let’s keep things simple. Follow the three steps below to construct a mission statement for your business or personal life.

FYI – unless your business is the United Nations World Food Programme, please try not to promise ending world hunger. People do notice that kind of thing.

3 Steps to a Great Mission Statement

1. Focus on others. You are in business to help other people. Period. End of discussion. Your mission statement should only discuss how you will help others, not yourself.
2. Brainstorm. Think of at least twenty ways you help your customers. Write down all of your ideas and then narrow it down to the top three.
3. Keep it super simple. Write out the mission statement once, then rewrite it with fewer words. Then, write it again with even fewer words. Shorter is always better. Always. Always. Always better. Shorter and fewer words are always better. Do you see what I’m getting at? Shorter is better. Yes, short.

Template

To help others ______, ______, and ______.

Bad Examples

These examples are Fortune 500 companies who don’t quite get mission statements. The first, Becton, is attempting to help every person on earth live vaguely healthier lives. It’s not specific nor anywhere close to manageable. The second, Avon Products, is incredibly too long. No really, mind-blowingly too long. The third, AutoNation, is beautifully short, but has nothing to do with their customers.

1. Becton, Dickinson and Company: To help all people live healthy lives.
2. Avon Products: The Global Beauty Leader: We will build a unique portfolio of Beauty and related brands, striving to surpass our competitors in quality, innovation and value, and elevating our image to become the Beauty company most women turn to worldwide. The Women’s Choice for Buying: We will become the destination store for women, offering the convenience of multiple brands and channels, and providing a personal high touch shopping experience that helps create lifelong customer relationships. The Premier Direct Seller: We will expand our presence in direct selling and lead the reinvention of the channel, offering an entrepreneurial opportunity that delivers superior earnings, recognition, service and support, making it easy and rewarding to be affiliated with Avon and elevating the image of our industry. The Best Place to Work: We will be known for our leadership edge, through our passion for high standards, our respect for diversity and our commitment to create exceptional opportunities for professional growth so that associates can fulfill their highest potential. The Largest Women’s Foundation: We will be a committed global champion for the health and well-being of women through philanthropic efforts that eliminate breast cancer from the face of the earth, and that empower women to achieve economic independence. The Most Admired Company: We will deliver superior returns to our shareholders by tirelessly pursuing new growth opportunities while continually improving our profitability, a socially responsible, ethical company that is watched and emulated as a model of success.
3. AutoNation: To be America’s best run, most profitable automotive retailer.

Great Examples

Notice how these mission statements are all about the same length, short. They are simple, to the point, and customer-centric.

1. Google: To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
2. Mary’s Flower Shop: To provide my community with the fastest flower-delivery service in town.
3. Pastor David: To help people find God, love God, and live the life for which they were created.

Application of the Mission

Don’t forget to succinctly describe how you will carry out your mission. Many mission statements are a little fluffy and use grandiose language that doesn’t have a clear real-world application.

If necessary, separately write out exactly how you will make your mission real (refer to my example below).

In the example of Google above, the mission statement is not clear enough to describe how the business functions, but it is clear what they are out to accomplish.

In the case of Mary’s Flower Shop, it’s pretty clear what she has set out to do, so we don’t necessarily need to expand her mission. Mary could describe exactly how she plans to achieve the fastest service in town, less of course it is a critical secret she wants to keep from her competitors.

Pastor David’s mission statement doesn’t actually mention a method to carry out his goals. In this case, David would need to go into some detail about how his weekly sermons, international mission trips, or other services would directly address the mission of his business.

My Mission

I copied my mission statement below, along with the application. This content was pulled directly from my About page. If you have a blog or website, consider including this content on your site as well. It will help clarify to your site visitors exactly what you do and, most importantly, why you do it.

Mission Statement for jeffsanders.com

To help you explore, engage, and experience the power of personal development.

Application of the Mission for jeffsanders.com

Through stories of great people, inspirational ideas, business strategies, and personal development lessons, I intend to find every means possible to inspire you to take action. Nothing happens unless something moves.

1. Have a willingness to take bold action. This is also known as taking a leap of faith. This first step will ask you to get started without knowing what will happen. You will most likely have doubts, uncertainty, and fears.
2. Embrace personal development. This is a journey and your best bet is to increase your self-awareness, skill-set, and confidence. Begin by reading, listening to audio programs, and attending seminars. Whatever you can do to proactively pursue your potential.
3. Start something significant. This is an adventure of trial and error. Getting started on things you care about is the beginning of greatness. You may need to start several projects, hobbies, careers, or businesses until you connect with the one that will make all the difference. Be willing to try.
4. Commit to your calling. Your calling will find you ñ it always does. Don’t get hung up on the cliches of discovering your passion or God-given purpose. Just do things that energize you and keep doing them. At some point you will connect with one or two passions that will redefine how you live every day.
5. Leave a lasting legacy of greatness. By my definition, greatness is best described as contribution. The goal is to use your business/career/project as a vehicle to create lasting value for others. After a fnew decades of devoting your life to helping other people, your legacy will secure itself.