How to Write a Proper Mission Statement for Your Business
Mission statements are important for businesses of all sizes. They help to define the company’s goals and objectives, and can be a guiding force for employees and customers. But writing a mission statement can be difficult – it needs to be concise, clear, and inspiring. So how can anyone come up with a proper mission statement for their business? According to entrepreneur Alexander Djerassi, there are key steps:
About the business and the goals
Start by determining what the company is trying to achieve. What are its goals? What does it want to be known for? It is advisable to find out everything that the company stands for and aims to be. This can help define a mission statement, especially if there are some clear goals in mind already. Once there is a good understanding of this, it can start shaping the mission statement around it.
Djerassi advises that a good first step is simply writing out all of these ideas on paper so they’re not forgotten about later!
Make sure the mission statement is clear and concise. It should be easy to understand what the company stands for and what it aims to be.
Aim for something inspirational, that can truly resonate with employees and customers alike. A mission statement aiming for change will inspire others – so aim high! If it isn’t an inspiring goal, then the company is not aiming high enough. It also resonates with people when a mission statement sounds real and authentic.
Include a call-to-action in the mission statement if possible. This will help to make it more memorable and effective, rather than just a list of aims that may be forgotten about.
Be realistic
Secondly, it is important to be realistic about what can and cannot be achieved. According to Djerassi, a mission statement should never set the company up for failure by promising something that it cannot deliver on.
Make sure everyone who needs to see the mission statement understands it. It should not be a secret document – put it up on the company website, include it in employee handbooks, and make it visible.
Search for Inspiration
The other step is to check out the mission statements of other companies for inspiration. What makes them so compelling? How can one create something similar or even better? It’s important to stand out from the crowd – but sometimes having a few good examples is all that is needed to get started with writing one for the business.
Put it into action
The final important step is to put this mission statement into action. It should be a guiding force for everything that the company does. When making decisions, employees and managers can ask themselves: “Does this fit with our mission statement?” This will keep everyone on track!
Mission statements are important, but they don’t have to be hard work – just follow these tips from experienced entrepreneur and foreign policy expert Alexander Djerassi and it’ll be a breeze.