7 easy steps to a more powerful mission statement

Today's Lessons

 

                       

7 easy steps to a more powerful mission statement

ZigZlar

When developing a mission statement, or transforming your existing mission statement, it is vital that you “think about what you want the client to receive. What do you want them to feel?”

Howard Partridge, a storied success in the world of transforming small businesses, discusses the power of a mission statement in his e-book The 5 Secrets of a Phenomenal Business. Partridge emphasizes the importance of a powerful mission statement as the backbone of your company’s systems and, therefore, structure.

Partridge, who studied closely Zig Ziglar throughout his career, sees the mission as the guide for the company as it is able to answer or direct any question asked, in any part of the business process. Following these seven easy steps will help you create a more powerful mission statement for your business so that you can become even more successful than you are today.

1) Short

To begin with, a mission statement has to be something people will remember for it to actually work. “An effective mission statement is not some long, boring paragraph in a frame on the wall that no one knows.” Nobody will be able to recite a paragraph by heart. Nobody will want to recite a paragraph by heart. If your mission statement can’t be remembered, it’s useless. “Until you simplify it and transfer it into the hearts of your employees and clients, it won’t help you.” Keep it short, and keep it simple.

2) Focused

A short mission statement bleeds into the next step, which is making your mission statement focused. “Your mission is about what you do every day.” This doesn’t mean you need a step-by-step detailed outline of what your business does every single day. It means you need to encompass the overall goal, the mission, of your business in one sentence. “World Famous Pike Place Fish Market became ’world famous’ by adopting the mission of treating everyone like they’re world famous.” Short, focused.

3) Clear

When making your mission statement short and focused, make sure it can still be understood. Be sure your mission statement is clear so that people understand it fully. “When you have a mission that is understood, you can ’check’ every decision that is made.” If your mission statement is short, focused and clear, people will be able to call upon the mission statement when they need to make a decision. A clear mission statement will give people a clear direction in which to travel when they are faced with difficult decisions.

4) Branded

The final point on ensuring that your mission statement is something that can be remembered is ensuring it is on-brand. “A clear mission helps you ’rally the troops’ and gives you a context for coaching.” If your company’s mission statement aligns with the brand of your company, it suddenly becomes much easier to coach and direct employees. They can draw more educated reasons behind their jobs and their purpose within the business, which helps you in the long run to get the most out of your employees. When people are working for a purpose and when people know that purpose, they work better. “When people feel like they belong to an organization that shares the same vision and values, they feel accepted, appreciated, and supported.” By keeping your mission on-brand, people know what they are getting themselves into when they begin working for your company. They know what they are signing up for and, therefore, will be more willing to work for that cause because they know they are a part of a community working together.

5) Inspirational

Along the same lines as keeping your employees on the same track, it is important to infuse your mission statement with inspiration. “Some organizations are alive, but that’s about all.” Bring your company to life. “Your mission needs to be unique, meaningful, and engaging so that your employees feel good about delivering it and your clients get an experience that makes them feel good.” Remembering to inspire with your mission statement is something that many companies forget to do when attempting to focus on their statement on the company purpose. Always remember to inspire the people who work for and with you.

6) Delivery-Oriented

While you are inspiring people with your mission statement, don’t go too overboard. Make sure your statement is actually delivery-oriented. “A mission is not a slogan necessarily; it’s what you actually deliver. But you do want to teach it to your clients so they know what they are getting. This helps you attract the kind of clients you want.” By giving your mission statement a direction, by ensuring through your mission statement that your company has purpose – your mission statement will become incredibly powerful.

7) Meaningful

Finally, the last step in creating a powerful mission statement is to make it meaningful. “To create your own mission statement, think about what you want the client to receive.” Remember the purpose of your company, of your services. Remember why you want people to come to your business for their needs. A mission statement could be inspiring and motivational and clear, focused, on-brand and more… but if it isn’t meaningful, if it doesn’t speak to you and to your clients, it won’t matter. Never forget to ensure that your mission statement has meaning that shines through and you will always have power behind the words in your statement.

Your mission statement is your pride and joy. Be creative but be sincere, and follow these seven steps to a powerful mission statement. A mission statement is something you post “on your materials, your walls, and every place it can be visible to remind you, your staff, and your clients what you are actually selling.” So be sure it is something you stand whole-heartedly behind.

Today's Business Tips

 

6 Habits of Extraordinary Bosses

 

By Geoffrey James | Inc – Tue, Oct 16, 2012 4:20 PM EDT

For the past two decades, I've been interviewing and observing successful C-level executives to discover the secrets of their success.

In a previous post, I documented the core beliefs of extraordinary bosses. Now it's time for something more tactical--the simple ground rules for managing a team effectively:

1. They Avoid Creating Superstars

Average bosses sometimes allow one employee to become the "star" of the team while ignoring the hard work of everyone else. The "star" gets plenty of recognition and attention, while the rest of the team gets shunted aside. This alienates everybody except the star and sends people the message that their contribution is not valued.

Extraordinary bosses coordinate individual workers' goals so that they intersect with and support team goals. Such bosses compensate based on how the team (rather than just the individual) performs and encourage top performers to use their talents to create a broader level of success.

2. They Remove the Nonperformers

Average bosses sometimes hire somebody who can't do the job--but then keep that person on board, hoping that he or she will figure things out. This damages the the entire team, because it creates a lower level of performance and forces everyone else to do extra work to fill the gaps.

Extraordinary bosses monitor employee performance and provide constructive coaching when an employee falls short. However, once it's that clear a person can't perform, they either reassign that employee to a more appropriate job or do him or her a huge favor: suggest finding a job elsewhere.

3. They Coach But Don't Interfere

Average bosses can't "let go" of what they're good at. They're constantly intervening when things aren't done the way they'd prefer. This not only lowers motivation but also turns the manager into a "gatekeeper" for any activity--causing productive work to grind to a halt.

Extraordinary bosses know that their primary responsibility is to let people do their jobs and provide coaching when necessary or requested. Such bosses realize that it's impossible for workers to think strategically when their time and energy are getting consumed with details of tactical execution.

4. They Put Their Employees First 

 Average bosses put most of their attention on customers, investors, other managers, and their own career. In this priority scheme, employees rank dead last--if they're even on the list. Unfortunately, employees can sense when a boss doesn't care about them, and they respond by not caring about their jobs.

Extraordinary bosses know that the best way to please investors, peers, and customers is to put the employees first. They realize that it's employees who create, build, sell, and support the products that customers buy, thereby creating investor value and advancing a manager's career.

5. They Manage People, Not Numbers

Average bosses focus on numbers rather than people. They jiggle revenue and profit numbers, monkey with statistics and data, and spend more time worrying about their spreadsheets than making things happen.

Extraordinary bosses know that numbers represent only the history of what's happened--and understand that the best way to have great numbers is to make sure that that the job gets done. They realize that their responsibility is to manage people and their activities so the numbers take care of themselves.

6. They Ask Questions Rather Than Give Answers

Average bosses think their job is to know all the answers and to provide those answers to their employees as frequently as possible. However, each time a boss answers an employee's question, that boss robs the employee of an opportunity to think and grow.

Extraordinary bosses know that people don't learn when wisdom is handed to them on a platter, much less forced down their throats. They know that a manager's job is to ask the questions that will spark, in the employee's own mind, the thought processes and ideas that will make that employee successful.