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Culture Shift: Sins of No Mission
April 14, 2008
Breaking News: Having a mission statement on the wall is not at all the same thing as being on an actual mission that captures the hearts and minds of workers.
By Paul Levesque
Too bad nobody hands out annual business awards for "most ineffective mission statement" in various categories (most wordy, most irrelevant, most uninspiring, etc.). I've personally seen many that would easily qualify for nominations in all categories.
The majority of so-called mission statements don't actually articulate any kind of mission at all. They're really just summarizing the line of business the organization happens to be in, and how it hopes one day to become among the best at what it does. That's a worthy dream. But such statements are describing the end result once the dream has been realized, instead of specifying how the dream is going to be turned into a reality. It doesn't spur the organization to roll up its collective sleeves and get moving on anything in particular.
It's a tragedy that so few businesses feel they're "on a mission," since success is so difficult to achieve without it. If you wonder whether your own operation has any real sense of mission working for it, here are two simple questions that can give you a pretty good idea in a hurry:
1. What's the one most serious issue that keeps you awake at night—the one your business must "get right" over the next twelve months, or it could find itself in very serious trouble?
2. Is that issue at the very core of your mission statement? Or, if you have no mission statement, is that the issue everyone at every level is currently working on as the number one priority?
If your answer to the second question leans toward the negative, now may be a good time to define a compelling new mission for your organization.
What Makes a Mission Compelling?
An effective mission statement accomplishes three things:
1. It articulates a change being introduced into the organization. Mission statements that contain words like, "Continue to&"; or "Maintain our&"; or "Preserve the&" are utterly non-compelling. They're really saying, "Lots more of the same-ole-stuff comin' your way." The essence of leadership is to lead to a new place. There must be a sense of movement, of progress, of change. What does "success" actually mean in your case? What kind of change is required to achieve it? In broad terms, how will this change be implemented? These are the kinds of things the mission statement needs to spell out.
2. It strikes a balance between challenge and achievability. The mission's particulars need to be quantified in some way. They must specify things like "by how much" and "by when." Without such specifics, there can be no clear-cut "moment of triumph" that signals the mission has been accomplished. Employees must sense there'll be some kind of organization-wide celebration the moment success has been achieved. They need to be able to feel a growing excitement as the moment of triumph draws visibly nearer, and draw motivational energy from it.
There can be no sense of triumph unless the mission was sufficiently challenging to begin with. When employees hear of it for the first time, the majority of their reactions should fall just between, "Oh, wow, that's going to be quite a stretch for us" and "But you know, I really think if we all pulled together on this thing, we could do it!" A compelling mission first causes eyebrows to go up, but then almost immediately provokes smiles (The smiles typically mean, That really would be something to achieve, wouldn't it?"). Any time you observe eyebrows shooting up, followed by grins, you'll know you've struck the right balance.
3. It provides a framework for strategic decision-making. It's one of the most valuable—yet, least anticipated—benefits associated with a compelling sense of mission. The clearer the mission, the simpler it becomes to make key strategic choices that otherwise could paralyze management teams in uncertainty and indecision. Any time competing priorities clash, the question now becomes, "Which option or course of action is most in support of our mission objectives?" If, for example, the mission revolves around attracting new customers, the favored course of action will surely be different than if the mission emphasized a reduction in operating costs.
A compelling mission motivates workers at all levels (right up to the senior leadership level) to "pitch in" and give their all for the team effort. When the mission is achieved, it creates a shared sense of accomplishment and kinship that those involved will typically never forget. And best of all: It creates readiness in the entire team for the next big collective challenge.
That's cultural alignment in action.
 Editor's Note: What does lack of mission look like? Is it something that can be photographed? Learn how Paul Levesque was able to capture just such a photo in this week's podcast, "Sins of No Mission," at www.incentivemag.com/cultureshift.
We want to hear your feedback on "Culture Shift" columns! Send comments to stacy.straczynski@nielsen.com to let us know what topics you'd like discussed in upcoming episodes of the "Culture Shift."
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