Page 204 - Performance Leadership

Chapter 11 The Return of the Mission Statement • 193

well, mission statements are useful to guide the strategic planning sys-
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tem. The mission statement:
• helps not only to figure out what a right strategy is, but also
which one has the tightest fit to what the organization stands for.
• defines the organization’s scope of business operations/activities.
It is often harder to decide what an organization should not do
than it is to figure out what it should do. If the mission statement
provides an overview of the scope of business, what it does for
whom, it acts as a benchmark for new strategic initiatives.
• provides a common purpose/direction transcending individual
and department needs. The mission statement is a short piece of
text that should provide guidance to all employees on how their
activities contribute to the overall goal.
• promotes a sense of shared expectations among all levels of
employees, thereby building a strong corporate culture (i.e.,
shared values). Employees and managers need to make
decisions every day. A well-designed and well-implemented
mission statement helps people make the right decisions.
• guides leadership styles. The mission statement can be a
benchmark for senior managers to make difficult choices when
facing a dilemma. It provides the guidance to do the right thing.
• promotes the interest of stakeholders. The mission statement
describes what the organization adds to the world, what stake-
holders it recognizes, and how it believes it creates value for them.

Of course an effective mission statement is not about clever writing,
but rather the implementation. However, if a mission statement doesn’t
follow a few basic guidelines, it won’t work. First, mission statements
should be to the point. In many cases this means the statement will be
short, but this is not necessarily the case. Furthermore, mission state-
ments need to have an external focus; mission statements describe a
company’s basic function in society. Next, mission statements must be
both specific and broad at the same time. It is vital to be specific on
how a company adds value, but in the broader terms of what the prod-
ucts and services achieve for the customers. Lastly, a mission statement
needs to be inspiring and truthful; it needs to invite stakeholders to buy
into the true value the company offers.