Why is a Mission Statement Important?

A mission statement is to your school, church, business, personal life, etc. what language is to communication. In fact, the purpose of a mission statement is to communicate to yourself, staff, and the world what to expect. Because, after all, sooner or later you get what you expect.

If you have a carwash, you are in the business of cleaning cars. But so are fifty other carwash businesses. People have choices. You want them to choose you. To help them make the choice, you need to give them some information that speaks to what they can expect at your carwash.

For example, are you the lowest cost, the best service, the ideal location, the one where everyone is courteous or dresses in a snazzy uniform?

What is a mission statement and why is it important?

Remember, it’s not necessary to be super unique to craft a good mission statement. Many successful organizations have very simple mission statements. Some companies simply use bullet points or a short paragraph followed by a statement of values or other explanatory material.

There’s no right or wrong way to present your organization’s mission statement. The importance of a mission statement is two-fold. First, having a stated mission and vision provides a common sense of purpose and goals internally. The second reason mission and vision statements are important ties back to helping funders, participants, or customers understand what to expect or why they should come to you for help or service.

Tackle these five steps to quickly get a purpose for your mission or vision statement

  1. List mission-critical ideas.
  2. Agree on these ideas.
  3. Fill in each idea with specific language.
  4. Discuss if you need additional explanatory statements.
  5. Fill in the additional explanatory statements.

What is a Mission Statement?

The mission defines the present condition of the organization. A mission should answer three key questions: what we do, who we do it for, and how we do it.

Some of the samples of vision statements by category, include the following (just click to go direct to the specific library)

Here’s a sample MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES approach:

Mallick Mechanical Contractors is committed to building solutions and relationships that last a lifetime throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC. Our vision is to be the premier commercial mechanical and plumbing contractor for high performance clients. We are dedicated to providing quality workmanship, customer satisfaction, and building long lasting relationships with contractors, owners, suppliers, subcontractors, and employees.

 

We have a Mission and Vision Statement Guide that you can download for $5 here.

 

The importance of a mission statement becomes clear if you and your team ask some of these key questions:

  1. Do we have a strategic plan?
  2. Why are we in business?
  3. What will our business look like in the future?
  4. What does our business do differently than others?
  5. What does this business mean to me personally?
  6. What’s our company culture and style?
  7. How are we special and unique as a company?

Keep your mission statement positive and the vision statement future-oriented. Use action verbs! Here are a few:

    assist

    believe

    create

    endeavor

    ensure

    improve

    maximize

    promote

    provide

    pursue

    recognize

    seek

    strive

    uphold

     Use positive nouns:

    customer satisfaction

    diversity

    enrichment

    excellence

    growth

    opportunity

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    Mission Statements DIY Generator Tool

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    See Hundreds of Mission Statements in Our Library

    Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

    Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is the world’s oldest and largest institutions devoted to prevention, patient care, research, and education in cancer. For over 120 years, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has offered the best possible care for patients with cancer and has sought strategies to prevent, control and ultimately cure cancer in the future. Our continuing record of success in the laboratory and at the bedside attests to our position as one of the nation’s premier cancer centers.

    Microsoft

    Empower people through great software anytime, anyplace, and on any device.

    Norfolk Southern

    Be the safest, most customer-focused and successful transportation company in the world.

    Mallick Mechanical Contractors places a high value on performance. We measure the success of every project by the expectations of our discriminating customers. We take pride in our work. Our values as a company and as individuals animate every project as well as our approach to each client.

    Service: Identify the customers’ expectations and strive to exceed them.
    Integrity: Honesty always, accept responsibility for your actions, be fair.
    Respect: We treat others the way we would like to be treated.
    Improvement: We believe that continuous improvement is a way of life.

    Sample Vision Statement

    Mallick Mechanical

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