Are You On the Right Mission?
By Nathan Johnson

I just started reading this book by Max Barry. It’s called Company, and it takes a look at the ills of corporate America as depicted in a fictional company, Zephyr Holdings. A couple of pages in, I came across something that struck me as both funny and sad – the fictitious company’s mission statement. It is as follows:

“Zephyr Holdings aims to build and consolidate leadership positions in its chosen markets, forging profitable growth opportunities by developing strong relationships between internal and external business units and coordinating a strategic, consolidated approach to achieve maximum returns for its stakeholders.”

It’s the kind of mission statement you have to read at least twice if you’re at all interested in trying to figure out what it means. And, frankly, even then, it’s pretty hard to decipher. That is, I’m sure, Barry’s point.

It’s a pretty horrible mission statement, but how often have you seen real mission statements like the one above? Probably more often than you’d prefer. I won’t list any of those real ones here because that wouldn’t be polite.

Most companies have mission statements, and most seem proud of them. Why else would they show up in so many places? Often, you can see the mission statement displayed on a big poster on the wall in the main lobby of headquarters or on individual plaques made to hang in every employee office or cubicle. Some companies slap them on the bottom of templates for a variety of documents or print them on the back side of everyone’s business cards. Sometimes they’re even part of e-mail signatures or the second slide of “About Company X” PowerPoint presentations (right after the title slide) to customers, prospects, the media and shareholders. Mission statements are also typically found among the first few pages of the employee handbook.  

So why is this fundamental piece of communication so often confusing or filled with jargon? As one of the first pieces of company information seen by potential targets, it should be written to fall in line with the company’s overall brand and messaging.

The problem is that a lot of companies need to change their mission statements, but they’re afraid of “messing with” what they believe is “set in stone.” Or maybe theirs was written by the CEO, and everyone is afraid that changing the text to be more representative of the company’s brand and key messages will somehow be insulting to the original author.

The other problem companies face is that they have a mission statement but no discernable brand or key messages on which to base the mission statement. That’s a much bigger problem than simply having an awkward mission statement, and it’s something that needs to be addressed before moving forward with any marketing communications activities.

That brings us to this: Take a look at your mission statement and all of the places it shows up. Is it aligned with your company’s brand and key messages? Does your company have a discernable brand and key messages? Does your mission statement truly represent your company’s mission, and is it written in language that is understandable and free from fluffy businesspeak? Is it something you think will resonate with customers, prospects and internal audiences?

If there’s a problem with any of the above elements, you should do something about it – and quickly.

Recognizing, of course, that attacking some issues from within is sometimes difficult, the best way to make changes may be to look to an objective outside partner with the expertise to help you refresh your brand, key messages and mission statement. You may need someone to look at what you are communicating and whether that information represents your company well or if you can tell a better story.

You want to be proud of your brand, messaging and mission statement. Are you? If not, get help.

E-mail the author: Nathan Johnson

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