You might think that a mission statement is easy and quick to do. Unfortunately, tons of companies get their mission statements wrong, all the way from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Hershey’s mission statement says “undisputed marketplace leadership”. Does that say anything about what the company does, how they do it, and why they do it? Guessing that the mission statement above is meant for a chocolate company is almost impossible. So if a Fortune 500 company can’t get it right, how can you? Check out the two tips below for some ways to make a good mission statement.
Be Transparently Clear
When you need to test a mission statement to see if it’s easy to understand, don’t test it on colleagues or people in your office. Instead, test it on your neighbor or a friend’s parents. Do they understand it – is it clear to them? If the answer is no, then you have some more testing to do. A mission statement should be easy to understand by everyone. Sun Microsystems, despite their high level of expertise, still has an understandable mission statement: “solve complex network computing problems for governments, enterprises, and service providers.”
Match Your Company and Mission Statement
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream has an excellent mission statement for their company: "To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment." Their mission statement may not be sterile and it uses colorful words on occasion, but that’s what Ben and Jerry’s is all about. They create an ice cream flavor, brand it, and then create another one. They’re all about being over the top and whimsical – so their mission statement goes with that flow.
