How to write a mission statement for your client.
There are a number of things you need to make clear:
Writing a Mission Statement
Some Ideas
- List the organization's core competencies; its unique strengths and weaknesses.
- List the organization's primary customers, internal or external, by type, not by name.
- Review how each customer relates to each of the organization's strengths. Ask them if possible.
- Write a one-sentence description of each customer/strength pairing.
- Combine any that are essentially the same.
- List the sentences in order of importance to the organization's vision, if one exists.
- Combine the top three to five sentences into a paragraph.
- Ask your customers if they would want to do business with an organization with that mission.
- Ask your employees if they understand and support it and can act on it.
- Ask your suppliers if it makes sense to them.
- Incorporate the feedback from customers, employees and suppliers and repeat the process.
- When you have refined the paragraph into statements that clearly articulates the way the company wants to relate to those it affects, publish it to everyone. Post it on the wall, email it to everyone
- A good mission statement provides strategic vision and direction for the organization and should not have to be revised every few years. Goals and objectives are the short-term measures used to get there.
- Revise the organization's mission statement when it is no longer appropriate or relevant.
From Entrepreneur.com
Answering the following questions will help you to create a verbal picture of your business's mission:
- Why are you in business? What do you want for yourself, your family and your customers? Think about the spark that ignited your decision to start a business. What will keep it burning?
- Who are your customers? What can you do for them that will enrich their lives and contribute to their success--now and in the future?
- What image of your business do you want to convey? Customers, suppliers, employees and the public will all have perceptions of your company. How will you create the desired picture?
- What is the nature of your products and services? What factors determine pricing and quality? Consider how these relate to the reasons for your business's existence. How will all this change over time?
- What level of service do you provide? Most companies believe they offer "the best service available," but do your customers agree? Don't be vague; define what makes your service so extraordinary.
- What roles do you and your employees play? Wise captains develop a leadership style that organizes, challenges and recognizes employees.
- What kind of relationships will you maintain with suppliers? Every business is in partnership with its suppliers. When you succeed, so do they.
- How do you differ from your competitors? Many entrepreneurs forget they are pursuing the same dollars as their competitors. What do you do better, cheaper or faster than other competitors? How can you use competitors' weaknesses to your advantage?
- How will you use technology, capital, processes, products and services to reach your goals? A description of your strategy will keep your energies focused on your goals.
- What underlying philosophies or values guided your responses to the previous questions? Some businesses choose to list these separately. Writing them down clarifies the "why" behind your mission.
Mission
Statement
Vision
Statement
FOR FRIDAY
On Friday you will do an update on your client with the following information:
- Update on the SWOT based on your interview
- (What surprised you about the answers your client gave in response to your questions?)
- What is the central question of concern for your client?
- What is the mission statement you drafted for your client?
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