Why Do You Go to Work Everyday?

Written by: Rob Levinson

I don’t mean literally, because, obviously, we all have bills to pay.

Rather, do you remember the purpose of your company, the role you play there, and why any of it matters to anyone?

If you can answer in the affirmative, you are in the minority.

Consulting to corporate America for decades, I’ve discovered that often employees are unable to recall their company Mission Statement, or even necessarily define what one is.

A Mission Statement, in a sentence or two, defines what a company does, who it serves, and its reason for being. It guides and informs strategy and growth and is imperative to align a company’s employees.

Often, I encounter companies with Mission Statements that are full of jargon and platitudes that are difficult to understand.

A recent client shared a Mission Statement that weighed in at about 250 words, was not memorable, and candidly not worth the pixels it hogged up on the website.

In today’s sound-bite culture, where slogans,  catchphrases, and tee-shirt sentiments rule, a company is advised to truncate its Mission Statement so employees can understand it, remember it, adopt it, say it, and live it.

The same is true for a company’s Vision Statement. Simply stated, if a Mission Statement reminds people why they come to work every day, a Vision Statement articulates where the company is going.

To develop a sound, strategic, and unique, Mission Statement and Vision Statement combination, it is best to be done as a senior management collaboration lead by a branding expert.

The most successful Mission and Vision Statements are developed during collaborative workshops that are part of a larger brand refresh exercise.

Such exercises include conducting qualitative research with customers and employees prior to the exercise so the expert can accurately represent where the brand currently lives among key stakeholders. Armed with these insights, he/she can then guide management to the possibilities of where the company could go.

Done successfully, a Mission and Vision Statement will engage, excite, and revitalize both your company and customers.

As for the previously noted client, post Workshop their Mission Statement was reduced to about 20 strategic, memorable, and, frankly, awesome words.

It may be a tee-shirt as well.