I'd like to promise two things. If you bring me in to facilitate a meeting with your team, I won't ask you to do a trust fall or close your eyes and imagine the future.
One thing I will do, however, is ask you to articulate your organization's mission.
Creating or revisiting a mission is the starting point of any strategy journey. Let's start with a simple definition of “mission”:
A Mission Statement:
Describes why an organization exists, its purpose, and its impact.
Is written briefly in the form of a sentence or two
Articulates a common purpose, cause, or belief
Communicates your contribution and impact
Represents the organization at its best today (is not aspirational)
"You can't know where you're going until you know where you are." Bill Burnett
Kicking off a new year is like preparing for a trip (not that I have taken many trips in the past two years - but you get the idea).
After loading up, I jump in my car and open Google Maps. Before I decide which route or how many stops - I "drop a pin" to mark where I am right now. The pin orients me; it helps me see how far I've traveled, direction, distance.
Revisiting your mission statement is "dropping the pin" for your organization. It's an essential first step to direct everything along your journey, your future destination (vision), and the route you take (strategy).
I have developed nearly 100 mission statements; for corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and even individuals. Here are the three mission statement mistakes I've repeatedly seen and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Making it all about you.
I use Simon Sinek's TED talk as inspiration to kick off mission writing. Sinek's book, Find Your Why, has a simple construct for writing missions.
We exist to (contribute) so that (impact).
Easy.
Mission writing can easily slide into an endless activity of wordsmithing by committees.
I designate an ultimate decision-maker and set time limits to contain the effort. It's essential to engage teams in reviewing and editing missions. I've found you can do this effectively in 20 minutes. The approach works because "constraints drive force and focus1". Teams come up with outstanding results quickly but often leave out a crucial piece: their organization’s impact.
Don’t make it about who, what, and how. Focus on your impact.
A few years ago, I worked with an Atlanta-based legal non-profit that provides free representation to people facing eviction. Their current mission statement was, well, accurate. It clearly described what they do and how they do it meticulously. They used the terms legal and lawyer four times in their mission.
The statement addressed the population they serve but failed to include the impact of their work on that population. I pushed this group hard to reframe their language and orient it in the lives of those they serve. Here is the before and after:
BEFORE
[Our organization] develops and coordinates programs that provide legal representation, education, and advocacy for at-risk, low-income individuals by tapping the enthusiasm and commitment of volunteer legal professionals to address the unmet civil legal needs in our community.
AFTER
To create safe and stable homes and families by inspiring the fight for equal justice.
I am a fan! Not only did they include their impact - they painted a vivid picture of what their clients' lives look like and the role this team plays in making that happen.
Avoid making it all about you: Connect your organization's purpose with the change you make in the world by remembering "so that ___."
Mistake #2: Assuming mission is the Swiss army knife of strategy.
When teams begin the mission writing process, they load this one statement with "all the things." In one concise sentence, they try to cram who, what, why, where, and how, mistakenly believing that mission stands alone in communicating strategy.
The mission is not the swiss army knife of strategy; it is one piece of a whole body of work. Strategy is a set of foundational components that, when combined, convey choices around who, what, why, where, and how. The well-crafted strategy operates as a whole picture - with each piece (vision, mission, values) playing a unique part in the bigger picture.
Avoid the Swiss Army Knife pitfall. Remember that mission doesn't exist in isolation. Read along in this blog post series to learn how the pieces fit together. You'll have a chance to cover "all the things" in different components of your strategy.
Mistake #3: Believe that writing is the primary job to be done.
Writing is an exercise in decision-making and simplicity. Your team will debate what stays, what goes, which words capture the essence of your message. Then comes the actual work, communication. When we are directly involved in the writing work, we sometimes forget to take others along on our journey.
I encourage CEOs to share their work early and often with their board and partners. Someone somewhere described this process as "socializing." Socializing your mission before, during, and after it's complete encourages feedback and strengthens familiarity. Your team will feel heard and see their input reflected on the page.
Over ten years ago, Daniel Pink came to speak to our team at Time Warner. He was talking about his book A Whole New Mind and described memorable communication using three words: levity, brevity, and repetition. It has been ten years, and I still remember levity, brevity, and repetition.
Let's talk about repetition. The human brain can hold about seven pieces of new information in less than 30 seconds (hello, phone numbers!). To plant messages into memory, we need to regularly re-expose our brains to the information. Your mission, vision, values, and other strategy components are no exception!
Avoid writing without communicating. Share your mission early and often. How can you build mission moments into regular meetings? How can you celebrate the people on your team who are mission champions?
The mission is the launching pad for strategy, but it cannot consume all the bandwidth. By focusing on the impact of your work, communicating routinely, and trusting the other strategy tools to do their jobs - you'll be off to a great start.
Next, I'll share three vision mistakes and how to avoid them. See you then!
“If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Yogi Berra
What challenges or pitfalls have you experienced in creating Mission Statements? Let us know in the comments!
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