What Is a Company Mission Statement and Why Is It Important?
You may have heard of a mission statement before but do you understand what this means? A mission statement simply refers to a short description explaining why a company or an organization exists. It briefly explains what the company is all about, how it operates and how it’s different from other similar companies. Clear mission statements give direction, focus, and inspiration to employees and also tell clients and/or customers what the company can do for them.
Why a Mission Statement is Important?
There are a lot of reasons why a mission statement is important:
1. It Gives Direction
A clear mission statement gives direction. Having such a mission statement will help to remind the employees why your company exists and which direction they should work towards. It is particularly helpful to new employees joining your company as it shows them the direction and goals of the company. When all the employees work toward the direction defined by the mission statement, the chances of success will be higher.
2. It Helps in Decision Making
A mission statement is very important when it comes to making decisions. As we said above, a mission statement gives a brief explanation of what your company is all about and thus it serves as a good material for reference when making decisions. Referring to your mission statement before making critical decisions is important since it ensures that you don’t make decisions that do not serve the role outlined in your mission statement.
3. It Helps to Shape Strategy
For your business to succeed, you will need to have a good strategy. The strategy you adopt will determine how far you can go and therefore it is good to ensure that you formulate an effective strategy. When formulating your strategy, you need to have a guide. Most individuals would tell you to copy your competitor’s strategy but if you are smart you would use your mission statement to come up with the most workable strategy for your company.
4. Welcomes Helpful Changes
You know that change is inevitable and, in most cases, change is viewed as the key to success. Most business owners are, however, reluctant to change since it makes them feel uncertain of what to expect. But with a good mission statement, there should be no fear of change since the mission is very clear. You should always make changes that can help to accomplish your company’s mission.
5. Helps to Focus on Future
Another importance of having a mission statement is that it helps a company to focus on its future. It helps to tell what a company should be doing at the moment so to be where it would want to be in 2 to 3 years. In other words, your mission statement helps you to stay focused on your vision.
Conclusion
Having gone through the above article, you now know what is a mission statement and how it would benefit your company. If you don’t have a mission statement yet, you are blocking your chances of success! For inspiration, you can search for mission statements of well-known companies, for example, read the Amazon mission statement. You should always ensure that you have a clear mission statement when starting a new business as this will help you to stay on track.