IN THE TRENCHES: It may be time to re-evaluate your mission statement
IN THE TRENCHES: It may be time to re-evaluate your mission statement
Does your company have a mission statement? If so, what is it? What does it mean? More important, who knows about it? Normally, a company mission statement is supposed to describe what an organization does. It is accompanied by company goals, purpose and values. It is usually a very short sentence or paragraph.
I browsed a good number of company web sites to see if they had a mission statement posted and what they included in it. Some had statements, some had visions and some had very little related to their company's purpose.
There are many uniquely composed mission statements that have some very significant meaning to them. For example, outside of the produce industry, these three well-known companies express themselves with excellent messages:
Levi Strauss & Co. -- "People love our clothes and trust our company. We will market the most appealing and widely worn casual clothing in the world. We will clothe the world."
Nike Inc. -- "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
Starbucks Coffee -- "Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining uncompromising principles while we grow."
A good mission or vision statement that a company consistently emphasizes will go a long way. Above all, it will make everyone understand the reason a company is in business and the direction it is headed.
Some companies treat mission statements as just a group of words posted on web sites and office walls. They have one merely because it's the routine thing to do. However, mission statements should seriously serve as a positive vision for the future direction of the organization. Mostly, they should guide employees toward the purpose and meaning of the company.
One mission statement with compelling meaning is that of The Nunes Co. Inc., based in Salinas, CA. Although short, it includes a strategic framework that I strongly feel meets industry challenges.
Matt Seeley, marketing director for The Nunes Co., said, "Our mission is short, sweet and to the point: 'Committed to growing, harvesting and packaging safe and healthy produce.' We wanted to be as straightforward and direct with customers as possible."
There are some companies that may not have a customary mission statement but do have a very positive vision.
Scott Danner, chief operating officer at Liberty Fruit Co. Inc. in Kansas City, KS, told me that Liberty does not have a particular common mission statement. However, he is quite proud of a simple family operating philosophy.
Mr. Danner said, "We are a family-run business with a very simple mission: 'The customer is always right and [we] make sure they are 100 percent satisfied every day, hour and minute. Customer service is our number one priority and we will expect only perfection from all employees. Listen to what our customers and employees are saying and react on those daily. Lastly, remember we are a family. When one of our employees fails, we all fail, and when we succeed, we all succeed."
Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's/World Variety Produce, told me, "We don't have a formal mission statement as a company, but the vision is totally clear: 'Get America to eat more produce by enjoying many varieties of produce and allowing seasonal produce to be available year round.'"
These are very reputable industry companies with outstanding standards. They live up to their missions and visions and are dedicated to their customers and to consumers. They take their statements very seriously and are committed to them. At a recent industry event, I was approached by a company president who asked me to speak to his sales and buying staff. In order to be more familiar with his company, I asked him about his company's mission statement. He stared at me for a few seconds in silence and replied, "I'm not really sure." Could you imagine the impression he gave me about his company right at that very moment?
Conversely, I find it absolutely amazing how some companies spend valuable time writing mission statements and then do nothing with them. It's like a meaningless exercise that eventually becomes fodder for mockery by the employees. Organizations and their employees should know the vision of the company. They should have full knowledge of the purpose of the company, what it is meant to do and where it is going. Each member, from the top down, should be able to verbalize the company mission.
The fact is, companies can experience close to 30 percent more return on investment when their employees know the meaning of its mission and directional target. Those operations that do not play up their mission and vision run a risk of drifting off course and into rough waters.
Mission statements are too often treated like web sites by some companies. Firms desire to have one like everyone else, but wind up being just a novelty.
Now, do you have a mission statement? Are you living up to it? Perhaps it's time to take a good look at it, read it and understand its meaning. Talk about it with employees. Make it visible throughout the organization.
If management and employees don't know the mission, vision and the direction the company wants to head, you just might as well close up shop right now.
I browsed a good number of company web sites to see if they had a mission statement posted and what they included in it. Some had statements, some had visions and some had very little related to their company's purpose.
There are many uniquely composed mission statements that have some very significant meaning to them. For example, outside of the produce industry, these three well-known companies express themselves with excellent messages:
Levi Strauss & Co. -- "People love our clothes and trust our company. We will market the most appealing and widely worn casual clothing in the world. We will clothe the world."
Nike Inc. -- "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
Starbucks Coffee -- "Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining uncompromising principles while we grow."
A good mission or vision statement that a company consistently emphasizes will go a long way. Above all, it will make everyone understand the reason a company is in business and the direction it is headed.
Some companies treat mission statements as just a group of words posted on web sites and office walls. They have one merely because it's the routine thing to do. However, mission statements should seriously serve as a positive vision for the future direction of the organization. Mostly, they should guide employees toward the purpose and meaning of the company.
One mission statement with compelling meaning is that of The Nunes Co. Inc., based in Salinas, CA. Although short, it includes a strategic framework that I strongly feel meets industry challenges.
Matt Seeley, marketing director for The Nunes Co., said, "Our mission is short, sweet and to the point: 'Committed to growing, harvesting and packaging safe and healthy produce.' We wanted to be as straightforward and direct with customers as possible."
There are some companies that may not have a customary mission statement but do have a very positive vision.
Scott Danner, chief operating officer at Liberty Fruit Co. Inc. in Kansas City, KS, told me that Liberty does not have a particular common mission statement. However, he is quite proud of a simple family operating philosophy.
Mr. Danner said, "We are a family-run business with a very simple mission: 'The customer is always right and [we] make sure they are 100 percent satisfied every day, hour and minute. Customer service is our number one priority and we will expect only perfection from all employees. Listen to what our customers and employees are saying and react on those daily. Lastly, remember we are a family. When one of our employees fails, we all fail, and when we succeed, we all succeed."
Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's/World Variety Produce, told me, "We don't have a formal mission statement as a company, but the vision is totally clear: 'Get America to eat more produce by enjoying many varieties of produce and allowing seasonal produce to be available year round.'"
These are very reputable industry companies with outstanding standards. They live up to their missions and visions and are dedicated to their customers and to consumers. They take their statements very seriously and are committed to them. At a recent industry event, I was approached by a company president who asked me to speak to his sales and buying staff. In order to be more familiar with his company, I asked him about his company's mission statement. He stared at me for a few seconds in silence and replied, "I'm not really sure." Could you imagine the impression he gave me about his company right at that very moment?
Conversely, I find it absolutely amazing how some companies spend valuable time writing mission statements and then do nothing with them. It's like a meaningless exercise that eventually becomes fodder for mockery by the employees. Organizations and their employees should know the vision of the company. They should have full knowledge of the purpose of the company, what it is meant to do and where it is going. Each member, from the top down, should be able to verbalize the company mission.
The fact is, companies can experience close to 30 percent more return on investment when their employees know the meaning of its mission and directional target. Those operations that do not play up their mission and vision run a risk of drifting off course and into rough waters.
Mission statements are too often treated like web sites by some companies. Firms desire to have one like everyone else, but wind up being just a novelty.
Now, do you have a mission statement? Are you living up to it? Perhaps it's time to take a good look at it, read it and understand its meaning. Talk about it with employees. Make it visible throughout the organization.
If management and employees don't know the mission, vision and the direction the company wants to head, you just might as well close up shop right now.
