February 9, 2010

Table of Contents:

A personal note from John
This issue's Musing - Your Mission... Dilbert or Drucker?
For your consideration... 

A Personal Note from John

What crazy weather we have been having all over the country this winter. Ninety miles east of my home, a tornado touched down... part of the time on the farm of my wife's parents. (They are fine.) We have had so much rain so often that the water table in the area is about one foot down (when it isn't just standing around in the low places.) We would have a huge mosquito problem if it wasn't freezing so often at night. And the rest of the country seems to be getting it's share of problems, too.

I hope that you are able to take the weather in stride where you live. (And that it will return to "normal" soon.)

Speaking of normal, another thing that should be "normal" but isn't, is a good business mission statement. If you have been skeptical about mission statements, you are not alone. However, before you give up on them take a look at the article below. Perhaps you will see something you hadn't before.

To your success and enjoyment,

The Career and Business Mentor for Creatives

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This Issue's Musing - Your Mission... Dilbert or Drucker?

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You have almost certainly heard that you need a mission for your business... and a mission statement to clearly spell out for others what that mission is. And, if you are a follower of Scott Adams (Dilbert cartoon creator), you will have seen his cartoon series mocking mission statements. You may have even heard the stories of him posing as a mission statement expert (with the help of sympathetic CEOs) and leading executive teams to create pompous-sounding but meaningless mission statements. Only at the end of the session when they all agreed it was a great thing for their company did he and the CEO reveal his true identity. (One of his goals was to expose "group think" in the executives.)

But I'm not talking about that. At least, I'm not talking about all those horrible examples and the ones that are filled with "corporate speak".

I'm talking about knowing:

• what business you are in
• why you are in that business
• who your ideal customer/client is
• being able to state it clearly and succinctly

As the owner of your business (or business-to-be), your own personal mission and your drivers fashion the shape of the business and the direction it takes. That is why I urge you so strongly to get clear on your own personal mission before you tackle the business mission.

But once you have that clear, your next order of business should be on the mission statement for the business. Why? Because all the reasons and benefits of a personal mission statement apply to a business mission statement, too. And it becomes more important as you add

• employees
• contractors or subcontractors
• partners
• vendors
• distributors

If you can't tell what your core business you are in, how can you expect anyone who works with you to share it? (I realize that vendors, distributors, or subcontractors may not need to share your mission... but you might want them to... depending on how closely they are working with you. You will certainly want any employees, joint venture partners, assistants, etc. to be aligned with your mission.)

What should a mission statement for my business look like?

While a lot of factors go into the  making of it, a good business mission statement should tell three specific things.

1. What business you are in

2. The purpose of your business

3. Who your ideal client or customer is 

And it should say it in less than 3 sentences... try hard to make it only one sentence.  Business guru Peter Drucker says it should be able to fit on a T-shirt. 

Oh, and remember, a mission statement is NOT the goal(s) of the business.  It is the purpose of the business. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see in business mission statements is scope - trying to either make it too specific or too "high level."  The too-specific tries to tell the world how they are going to accomplish their mission and the too-high-level speaks in platitudes. 

I'll give you two quick examples. (And, no, I am not  going to tell you whose mission statements these are. My goal is not to embarrass anyone, but to learn from them.)

Too-specific: "[Company X] continuously strives to meet the needs of its customers for total value by offering a unique package of location, price, service and assortment."

Sure enough, they tell us how... but does that really tell you anything? Especially does it tell you the purpose of the company? As an employee, could you really get behind that? Be inspired by that?

Too-high-level (platitudes): "To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential."

Really? All of them? Which of the hundreds of potentials a person has will you be trying to help fulfill? What business, exactly, are you in? Who is your ideal client?

There is a lot that should be left out of a mission statement, but we will have to save that for another time.

Action step:

Having completed your personal mission statement, draft a mission statement for your business. Make sure it covers what business you are in, the purpose of your business, and gives an indication as to who your ideal customer/client is. 

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For Your Consideration...

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Want the benefits of a personal mission statement but haven't discovered your mission, yet?  Consider taking advantage of my special mentoring packages for discovering your personal mission and/or your business mission.  Because I feel so strongly that everyone should know their mission, I am offering a special package right now to help more people find their mission so they can start living it.  In either the one-on-one mentoring or in the group mentoring package you will get personalized attention from me.
To learn more, go to www.careerandbusinessmentor.com/Mission-Discovery.html