Page 205 - Performance Leadership

194 • Part III Principles from the Values and Social Dimensions

The Mission Statement Should Be to the Point
The more words that are needed to explain what the company stands for,
the bigger the chance the company doesn’t have a clear picture itself. It
takes a certain level of maturity to boil the mission down to the essence,
to understand the fundamental principles that drive the business.
Some examples of short mission statements are:

• “Provide the world’s best communications solutions that enable
businesses to excel” (Avaya, a U.S.-based telecommunication
company).
• “We make food safe and available everywhere” (Tetrapak,
provides packaging solutions for food).
• “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the
world. (*If you have a body, you are an athlete.)” (Nike).

But that doesn’t necessarily mean long mission statements are bad.
Consider Starbucks’ mission statement, which is relatively long, but
still to the point:

Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the
world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.
The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appro-
priateness of our decisions:

• Provide a great work environment and treat each other with
respect and dignity.
• Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do
business.
• Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roast-
ing, and fresh delivery of our coffee.
• Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.
• Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.
• Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success.

Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all
facets of our business.
We fulfill this mission by a commitment to:
• Understanding of environmental issues and sharing information
with our partners.