They’ve all got purpose and they really want to tell you about it.
From management consultants to vegan bakery everyone has a beautifully crafted, succinctly expressed mission statement.
Everybody wants to tell us that they are changing this, accelerating that, making the world better, one cupcake at a time.
But are they? Really? I doubt it.
I doubt that many mission statements are much more than that. Statements. Empty words, hollow rhetoric. Meaningless bits of communication designed at best to put a thin veneer of differentiation on otherwise unremarkable offerings, or at worst (and I have seen this recently) an attempt to throw up a smokescreen, a distraction from unethical or irresponsible behaviour.
And there is the key word in all of this. Behaviour.
Because unless every atom in your organisation is, on a daily basis doing things that deliver that mission statement in real terms, in the real world, then I’m afraid any words you use are wasted.
Unless your internal culture is focussed, organised, informed, enabled, motivated and committed to delivering against your mission statement through the application of whatever it is you do; then please stop talking about it. We don’t believe you. And you’d be amazed at how much this happens, especially in professional services.
A new mission, a new strategy, a rebrand or a refreshed articulation is commissioned, and the moment it’s been delivered and put up behind reception and emblazoned on the landing page, everything continues as before. As if nothing has changed. As if the new mission means nothing.
But the purpose of having a new mission, is to have a new mission. To set the north star for the whole organisation. To define the authentic best version of the organisation, something to guide the collective effort with renewed, refocussed purpose. (And here, a quick word on that word ‘authentic’. Be it. If you’re a skip hire firm from Tipton, please don’t tell me that you’re curing disease through waste management. I’m sure you are doing something brilliantly. But it’s not that.)
Basically, if the day after your new mission strategy is delivered, your organisation doesn’t start doing new things, with new clarity and new energy, then all you’ve done is wasted time, resources and finances in producing yet another meaningless corporate slogan. You’ve added to the noise. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Having a strong mission statement, a purpose; is really important. Of course it is.
In business as in life we are drawn towards those with whom we feel an affinity. Similar values, beliefs or motivations. And in professional services that can make a big difference to your growth. When most firms in your sector and of your size will be able to field a team of similar if not identical experience, education and expertise; how can we expect potential clients to know who to choose? So unless you’ve got a preexisting relationship, you’d better have something else. And that something else is affinity, empathy, shared goals.
Demonstrating that what’s important to them is important to you is a very powerful message and an even stronger sales tool. It helps people know why you’re different, how you do what you do differently to others. And in a world where even the most marginal of edges can mean the difference between winning and losing, doesn’t it make sense to do it properly?
So get everyone in your organisation behind your mission statement. All of them. The most important thing you’ll ever do is develop an internal culture that embodies those values, beliefs and motivations. From reception to boardroom, everyone on a mission. The same mission. Now normally, these sort of things are developed at high level by a few and then announced to everyone at some get together on a Thursday after office hours with a glass of flat Cava and an even flatter powerpoint presentation. The result? No-one has any idea what it's all about, why it’s being done or what it has to do with them.
So involve them. Early on.
I’m not advocating design by committee, but I am advocating putting together a working group (no more that 8 people) across all functions and levels within the organisation. Make them your champions. It’s really likely that they’ll have a clearer view of the day to day operations than the management team, because they’re the ones who have to make it work, day to day. So use that clarity of vision to your advantage. They can uncover an authentic hidden nugget that inspires and unlock an answer, or act as quality control for meaningful and motivating next steps. Reporting to the management team, responsible and empowered to deliver the project throughout the organisation but most importantly to keep their immediate peers up to speed. Champions and evangelists. A powerful combination.
So when the time comes for the big unveiling, the whole organisation already has buy in. There should be no surprises, just lots of nodding heads.
Make it real and relevant for them. They are your internal audience. Bring it to life for them. Function by function, line by line, individual by individual, either through group sessions or one to ones, explore how each person can help deliver the corporate mission statement through what they do. Let people have their own ideas. Let them own it. If you want this to really catch fire, autocratic edicts from on high will fall on deaf ears. Don’t be scared to let some control of your collective future lie with those who have to actually do the spade work.
Now bring it to life for your external audience. Clients, existing or potential. Live it, breathe it, make them believe that you believe it. Most professional service organisations will at this point make a little film, or series of films that ‘highlight their belief in’, or ‘draw attention to the issue’ or ‘show their support of’ whatever they can shoehorn their mission statement into. They’re normally nothing more than fluff pieces for the the firm in general or certain senior figures who fit the casting brief. And they do a job I suppose, just not a particularly good one. Because it all stops there. With the film.
If you can bring about a change in the language you use, the way you behave, the products that you deliver and the processes through which your clients interact with you make all those things bring truth to your mission, then BINGO! You are delivering something that your clients will recognise and believe. Find a way to leverage your skill set, your core competencies, to actually create a real world effect that delivers on your mission statement. For example don’t just tell me that you are building a better world by supporting gender equality in the workplace (after all who wouldn’t say that?) with a social media film that features your top women leaders, actually do something that accelerates the process for everyone.
If you are developers, develop a women only jobs platform. A Bumble/LinkedIn type mash up that drives change in recruiting. There are political parties who have female only shortlists for new constituency candidates that will stay in place until the gender imbalance in their party is removed. Why not so in professional services? If you’re a law firm, draft a new law. Bring your expertise and experience to bear on forcing change through legislation. Anything. Whatever it is, whatever mission you say you’re on, DO IT. Stop talking about it.
Don’t just have a mission statement, have a mission.
That would really give you something worth making a film about.