Most business owners know that having a mission statement is important. Mission statements give your company direction, and they give your audience a way to see what you’re all about at a glance. However, if you’re not going to apply your mission statement, it’s pointless to have one. Here’s why.
Accountability leads to credibility.
Your mission statement should hold you accountable to your mission! When you set out as a business owner, you usually have an overarching goal in mind that you incorporate into your mission statement. With those words on the walls of your office and on your website, you are proclaiming to your clients how you seek to serve them. While it isn’t a promise per se, it is declaration of intent. So when your clients read your statement, they shouldn’t think, “Hm, empty words on a plaque.” People should read it and say, “Yes! This business is doing exactly what they are setting out to do.” This kind of follow-through gives you more credibility than you probably think it does.
Do everything on purpose with a purpose.
Why do you wake up every morning and do what you do? Because you want to? Because you have a vision of what you want to accomplish? Your mission statement is ingrained in your heart and mind. But what is set in stone in you is a vague idea in your other teammates. You may have a partner who feels the same passion and purpose as you, but your other employees have to “catch the vision.” Don’t let them haphazardly wander through their day, working half-heartedly without any real mission in mind. Make them memorize the mission statement, integrate your mission statement into decision-making, purchases, etc. Your mission statement should be the standard by which you and your team measure everything you do.