Writing A Mission Statement

The process to write a mission statement at first may seem daunting, however technically it is not.  The hard part is searching within to understand and determine what content needs to be inserted into your mission statement.  This page is to help provide an understanding of mission statements and an easy process to develop and write your own mission statement, whether for your own personal life or for your organization.

Mission Statement Objective

Your mission statement defines your “purpose for existing”, your “reason for being”.  Your purpose ought to key in on both your passions and your strengths in order to be the most impactful, for your own benefit and those that you provide value to.

Mission Statement Purpose

The mission statement provide focus and how to direct your own actions or those of your organization on a daily basis; to spell the overall objective, provide a path, and guide decision-making.  Everything as much as possible that you do, should serve and or promote your purpose.

Before You Start

Keep in mind of the following:

• Be Relaxed: Just relax…
• Be Patient: Do not pressure yourself to write this statement asap and perfectly.  If you need or want time, take it.  If you want to get it done now and refine it over time, that’s good too! The major objective here is to find motivation. No motivation makes daily life challenging.  Some motivation makes it easier. Emotionally powered motivation is ideal but it can take some time to figure out but worth it when starting each day excited and ending that day fulfilled.
• Be Flexible: Mission statements are to serve as a motivator based your desires, emotional needs and circumstances. As time goes on desires, emotional needs and or circumstances may shift, therefore you mission may have to shift. Minor refinements over time are good and normal.  Major refinements or complete rewrites are sometimes needed and the need becomes obvious over time if you are not excited for and fulfilled by what goes on in your days.

Simple 5 Step Process to Write Your Mission Statement

1. Develop a list of what you value most, things you like or love to do, strengths that support what you love, the value provided when doing them and who you provide it for.

2. Summarize this in simple, plain-spoken language that anyone can identify with.  Try writing several down to begin refining your thoughts.

3. Carefully consider the statements you develop from the different perspectives below relevant to your circumstances so you can write in a manner each relevant group could easily understand and would know how to support it.

• Family Members / Team Members
• Leadership / Mentors / Teachers / Guardians
• Clients / Customers / Donors
• Employees / Colleagues / Owners / Shareholders
• Public / Government Officials

4. Now work to combine your statements the above into one very clear and concise statement incorporating the key components that are meaningful in those statements.  Make certain to keep what you feel strongly about. Refine it until you feel it will answer the questions below well.

• Contribution: What impact do you or does your organization make?
• Emotion: Why do your or does your company do it?
• Differentiation: How do you or does your company do it? How is it unique? How does it create an advantage for you?
• Implementation: How can you make it come to life?

5. Refine the vision statement as much as possible to limit it to one powerful forward looking sentence if possible, limit it to 50 or fewer words and commit it to memory.  Make certain the mission statement is aligned with and or supports your values and vision statement.  Poor or lack of congruency will make achieving overall success more challenging up to the point of impossible if the mission opposes the vision and or values.

The “WHY” is key here…

If you are working everyday over the long term, your mission needs to be about more than just doing something to make money providing great products and or providing a service(s).  There must be a need fulfilled, a purpose believed in that supports why you are doing what you are doing. Rock solid purpose ensures long term sustainable success and happiness.  The mission statement answer the “Why” you are eager to get out of bed and work hard today….. Happy writing!

 

Mission Statement Examples

Personal Mission Statements

1. “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”  ~  Oprah

2. “To have fun in my journey through life and learn from my mistakes.”  ~  Sir Richard Branson

3. “If something’s important enough you should try. Even if the probable  outcome is failure.”  ~  Elon Musk

4. “I want to serve the people. And I want every girl, every child to be educated.”  ~  Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Prize Laureate

5. “To make people happy.”  ~  Walt Disney

6. “Not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”  ~  Maya Angelou

7. “I shall not fear anyone on Earth. I shall fear only God. I shall not bear ill will toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”  ~  Mahatma Gandhi

8. “Love God and others.”  ~  Joel Manby, CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment

Organization Mission Statements

1. “Creating happiness through magical experiences.”  ~  Disney Corporation

2. “Deliver the firm.”  ~  AIG

3. “To make our cars better, our employees happier and our planet a better place to be.”  ~  Ford Motor Company

4. “We’re in business to save our home planet.”  ~  Patagonia

5. “To refresh the world…to inspire moments of optimism and happiness…to create value and make a difference.”  ~  Coca-Cola

6. “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”  ~  Google

7. “Design, manufacture and launch advanced rockets and spacecraft.”  ~  SpaceX

8. “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”  ~  Tesla

TIP: Make Your Life Easier

Leverage the use of LightStance Life360 for personal planning or LightStance Business360 for organizational planning to define your values and align them with your vision, mission and goals.