What Is Your Mission Statement

Your Mission Focuses Your Business

A mission statement is an action-oriented statement declaring the purpose an organization serves to its audience. It often includes a general description of the organization, its function, and its objectives.

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Bringing Your Vision To The Present

Once you've created your vision statement, the next question you're probably asking yourself is, "This vision is so large, how do I make it a reality?"

The purpose of a mission statement is to come back to the present and make a list of achievable goals and objectives that will allow you to move towards your overall vision but not feel overwhelmed.

If the vision statement is your 10-year plan, the mission statement is your 3-month, 6-month 9-month, and 1-year plan on how you are going to focus your and your team's energy now.

A mission statement clarifies what the company wants to achieve, who they support, and why they support them. A vision statement describes where the company wants a community, or the world, to be as a result of the company's services. Thus, a mission statement is a roadmap for the company's vision statement.

Why You Need A Mission Statement

How many times have you worked for a company that seems to be pulling into a million different directions? The board members want to go one way, the CEO wants to go another, and then for some stupid reason, your manager has an EGO and thinks they know a better way and takes you down a completely different rabbit hole.

The purpose of a mission statement is to get everyone on the same page, moving in the same direction with a unified purpose. Otherwise, everyone is going to have a different strategy on how to accomplish the vision of the company and you may find yourself spreading your energy too thin or team members creating conflicting strategies.

If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.Abraham Lincoln

Just like this quote, when designing your mission statement, in the beginning, it's important that you create a clear mission and goals for what is important in the next year.

Writing A Mission Statement

A mission statement is the foundation of your business and should be clear, concise, and specific. If you aren't sure what your mission statement is yet, take a look at some examples below:

The purpose and mission of Contineofy is to walk alongside SaaS owners, marketers, customer success, and sales executives on the journey towards scaling their SaaS organization.Contineofy

To empower companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way.SalesForce

To build software and systems that empower businesses to transform the way they attract, engage, and delight customers.HubSpot

To delight our customers by helping them make better decisions faster through the use of technology.Intuit

Putting Thoughts Into Action

Now that you've written your mission statement, it's time to use it in various ways to help guide your business and personal decisions. Here are some ideas:

Use the Mission Statement as an elevator pitch during networking events or job interviews. The format of an elevator pitch is short and sweet, so this should be easy! You'll have a solid foundation on which to build.

Use the Mission Statement as a guide for product development. You can even use this exercise to come up with new products or services that align with the values you've chosen as part of your mission statement (and if they don't align with those values, perhaps reconsider whether creating them would be worth it).

Use the Mission Statement as a way to remind yourself of what really matters in life, it may be similar for others too. This will help keep one foot on Earth while building up another in outer space (or whatever metaphor works best for you).

If you take anything away from this post, let it be the importance of having a mission statement for your business.

It may seem like a lot of work, but it's worth it when you consider all the benefits that come with an effective mission statement.

Remember, your mission statement is not something that needs to be perfect on the first draft. So don't get frustrated if you find yourself struggling with wording or grammar issues, keep going until you reach a point where everything feels right and continues to make sense as you go forward in your business journey.

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Creating A Value Proposition

A value proposition is a concise statement that communicates the unique benefits and value a product or service offers to its target audience. It highlights the specific problem it solves, the advantages it provides, and why it is superior to competitors.

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