Company Culture: Vision, Mission & Values – Part 3

I’m talking about your inner fabric – what you’re made of.

Mission. Your mission is your purpose. This is your company’s reason for existence. It’s what you do. It speaks to your value, how you want your employees to act, and what kind of reputation you wish to have with your customers and the community – what your company stands for. Include the things that are most important to you, things that are part of your inner fabric – what you’re made of. It usually does not change from year to year (though it can).

Think of your mission like the lyrics to a song- you want it to flow!

We wrote our mission statement in 1998 when everything in business changed for us. I had been running the painting business for 18, almost 20, years and had not articulated a mission! So I got together with some of the more engaged folks in the company and had a breakfast club. Then, over a few weeks, we put together the basics of our mission. You want to get it right, and you want it to flow, like the lyrics to a song. Ours is great; I searched the internet once and found that somebody had copied it word for word! It’s too bad that they couldn’t develop their own mission, but I don’t mind being copied.

Have a look at mine as an example. This is right from my website:

Take a stab at this yourself. Include all the elements below, and write a first draft. Then, show it to your employees, partner, family, etc. and improve your Mission Statement until it resonates with your primary purpose.

You are getting stronger!

See you Monday. Build muscle.