Mission and Vision Statement Creates Your Company Culture

Deanna and I were working with a client on increasing sales and the topic of mission and vision statement came up. We told the story that you and I are walking along and we see two guys laying bricks. We ask the first guy, "what are you doing?" He replies, "I'm laying bricks." We ask the second guy, "what are you doing?" and he replies, "I'm building a cathedral."

Mission and Vision Creates Focus
A mission statement describes "what we do" (i.e. laying bricks). A vision statement describes "what we are building"(i.e. building a cathedral). Deanna added a great dimension that was very instructive. The mission and vision statement should serve as a filter to help us decide if daily actions and decisions are in line with the focus of the business. So the mission statement should serve to focus us on our core strengths and core competencies and how it serves our customers. I recently read about Proctor and Gamble's purpose statement, check it out (especially the bold part):

P&G Purpose Statement
We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world's consumers, now and for generations to come. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders and the communities in which we live and work to prosper.

You can read more about it at http://www.pg.com/company/who_we_are/ppv.shtml

The purpose for P&G employees is to improve the lives of their customers with their products. This purpose statement works from the janitor up to the Chairman of the Board.

The Who, How, and Why of Vision Statements
Deanna also shared with us that a vision statement should clearly define who we serve (describe who your customer is, which by default tells you who is not your customer, so think through that one carefully), how we serve them, and why we serve them.

Meaning and Loyalty
The mission and vision statement helps us create a meaning for what we do outside of the money. It puts some humanity and human qualities into our daily business life. If it's all about the money and only about the money or if that is what customers and employees feel, then you will lose their loyalty. It is impossible to grow a business without the long-term loyalty of employees and customers.

Create a Productive Culture
If you were to read the mission and vision statement that we worked on you would probably say to yourself, "that's no big deal." But if the owners explained it you would feel the passion, the meaning, and nuances behind the words. This is what creates the culture of the business. Culture is what people do, automatically without being told or instructed. You want to ensure that your mission and vision automatically create a productive culture.

Make certain that you have a mission and vision statement that takes you beyond profit and the money making aspects of business alone and actually builds compassion and loyalty into your bottom line. It takes some thought, it takes some effort, and it is very worth it. It will guide the culture, productivity, and success of your business.