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Big corporations and world renowned companies know the importance of a purpose driven mission statement. They consider it a guide that aligns their values and goals. These organizations also use mission statements to appeal to more customers, increase sales and attract new hires that share the same values and purpose.
A great example of this is Amazon’s mission statement. The e-commerce giant strives to be ‘the Earth’s most customer-centric company’ – as seen in their mission statement uses to attract new talent:
In addition to attracting talented people who share the same values as your organization, creating a purpose driven mission statement can:
Since a mission statement is crucial for your company’s success, what does it take to write a powerful one?
Here’s a short guide we have prepared to help you write a purpose driven mission statement.
It may be tempting to use your mission statement as a marketing tool, but this may not be the best choice. Your product may not always help infuse personality in your company’s mission statement. It is your intention that makes it compelling.
Google is undoubtedly known for its product; however, Google’s mission statement has no mention of it:
Similarly, your intent should focus on the goals you want to achieve. It should be focused on a universal goal rather than a mundane one.
Since the intent is the foundation of a purposeful mission statement, let’s look at how you can develop it. To make this process easier and more organized, you may find it helpful to think about the what, how and why of your organization to find what you prioritize and how your priorities impact your business.
Answering these questions can help define the final intent for your mission statement because this way, you can focus on your organization's value and purpose.
A purpose driven mission statement depends on how well you formulate the intention behind it. However, a good mission statement also has the following key elements in its structure:
You can see how well all three elements are incorporated in Asos’s mission statement:
As you can see, this company is inspired to become a leader in the e-commerce industry. Asos sees value in making e-commerce fashion more accessible to Millennials; Their target audience, and the most prominent segment buying products online. Mentioning a target audience adds specificity to their mission statement. These structural elements may come in a different order, but to have your mission statement deliver the intended message, they should all be incorporated.
As we already mentioned, a purpose driven mission statement should inspire immediate action. To achieve that, consider including a few action verbs. They will help make it more dynamic, precise, and clear. If you struggle to find the right words, consider teaming up with professionals from a writing websites, who can help edit and proofread your mission statement.
If you want create a mission statement on your own, create a complete list of verbs for goal and objective statement. Then find synonyms to make your mission statement more unique.
You may be tempted to say as much as possible about your company and its values in your mission statement, but don’t give in to this temptation. A mission statement should not be too long to render the intended brand message. We have studied over 20 mission statements from different companies, and the average length was 29 words. Keep it concise and short, but make sure it inspires action. A powerful mission statement is not about length, but about value.
Are You Satisfied With Your Mission Statement? Does your company’s current mission statement represent your company well? If you answered no, consider using the short guide provided in this article to revise it. A truly powerful and purpose driven mission statement is about aligning the intention, your values, and your goals. These three components together inspire action, which is your goal.
