Mission Statement - Employees should know our company Mission Statement verbatim?

[Helmut Jilling]

I was in the process of saying just what Jim said about mission statements and the same thing is true of corporate mission statements. There have been lots of successful companies without mission statements. Whether it is personal or corporate, it is not the mission statement that is important but what actions you take. Regardless of what your mission statement says, your customers (or those around you) will know what is important to you by what you do.

There are plenty of self help books for personal and business use that insist that it will not be done unless it is written down. For some people that may be true but not everyone needs that assistance. If it works for you or your company than great, I just think that most companies have it as a plaque on the wall.

Bill Pflanz

I would argue that every company that has sustainable success has a mission statement. But, they don't all write them down. There has to be a clear understanding of the goal, the focus, something that ties the culture and team together. Some companies just don't write them down.

And, when a company loses that focus, they slowly begin to lose market share...

 

[Helmut Jilling]

The discussion was about corporate mission statements, not personal decisions about how to live one's life. Your own ethical and moral decisions are admirable, but lots of people have lived their lives that way without ever even having heard the phrase "mission statement."

That doesn't mean they didn't have one. Most winners have a clearly defined mission, whether they write down or not, is not the issue.

 

[JaneB]

I agree. One of the things that distinguished companies in 'Built to Last' was that all of them - all of them were absolutely, completely clear about their company aimed to do.

Personally, I hate the term 'mission statement', but I applaud companies that have one when it's clear and says what they do and their people not only know it, but demonstrate it by their actions & attitude. I don't expect them to know it verbatim.

 

[C Emmons]

Our auditor regularly asks the following question to our associates -

" I see your company has a quality policy/mission statement that talks about ontime service, damage free delivery, etc. etc. In your own words tell me how you contribute to that policy....