Page 203 - Performance Leadership

192 • Part III Principles from the Values and Social Dimensions

as optimized by traditional performance management methodologies,
do not provide guidance.
The mission statement is an obvious tool to provide the needed guid-
ance. A widely accepted definition of a mission statement is that it
embodies “a broadly defined but enduring statement of purpose that
distinguishes the organization from others of its type and identifies the
scope of its operations in product (service) and market terms.” 2
According to a Bain survey, around 80 percent of organizations have
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a mission statement. The problem with most mission statements is
that they are often not implemented, because systems goals usually
supersede them. Somehow the connection between the overall mis-
sion and everyone’s daily activities is lost. The mission statement,
vision, and the organization’s values are published on the company’s
Web site, and they hang on posters at central places in the building;
but the company’s strategy—as people understand it—and perform-
ance indicators do not reflect them. In many organizations, this has
led to cynicism or indifference about the mission statement, a typical
behavior connected to misalignment. People do not recognize the mis-
sion of the organization and how it would affect their daily work; they
do not know how their work contributes to achieving the mission.
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Consider the example of a European airline. This airline publicly
announced that environmental protection was a high-priority corpo-
rate goal. It stated that compliance to environmental regulations was
not enough, that it wanted to use the best available technologies in
the most economical way to continuously reduce the negative envi-
ronmental impact that airline travel has. A look at the published score-
card of the airline showed financial goals, such as profitability and
revenue growth; customer goals, such as loyalty, global presence, and
image; and employee goals, such as a service-oriented culture, engage-
ment, and a high level of skills. The strategic environmental goals
were not given any consideration.
By themselves mission statements have limited impact. It is clear
that there is no direct link between having a mission statement (let
alone a good mission statement) and an organization’s performance,
but there is an association between mission statements and perform-
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ance through organizational behavior. Mission statements should not
be seen as a direct input on business performance, but more as an out-
put of good management and a solid business model. When articulated