The Mission constitutes a brief and clear statement of the reasons that justify the existence of the organization, as well as the purpose (s), or the functions that its clients wish to satisfy and the fundamental methods through which it intends to fulfill this purpose.
“A mission acts as a lantern, anchor, and sometimes as conscience” - Guy Kawasaki, Selling the Dream.
Three qualities of good definitions of Mission:
- BRIEF: short and simple statements are easy to understand and remember and demonstrate clear thinking. FLEXIBLE: to last long and project over time, encompassing new forms of business. DISTINCTIVE: they should differentiate your company from other similar ones.
60% of mission statement programs fail, not so much because of the product, but because of the process followed. "Experience indicates that the true value of a mission statement is always determined by management's ability to use it effectively, to focus the organization's attention on anticipating and managing change."
ROLE OF MANAGEMENT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MISSION
- Act quickly and effectively to stimulate themselves and others and become a truly committed team driven by a clear and shared Mission / Vision for success Include the entire organization in the same vision and empower staff to make the necessary changes that bring that vision to life Remove all barriers that prevent people from focusing on generating success through momentous results in operations, sales, service, technology, administration, HR management, etc. control your position and image in the market and manage important external attitudes and opinions in this regard.
WHY MISSION STATEMENT PROGRAMS FAIL
- Lack of definition in vision: inability to effectively develop comprehensive knowledge, or to handle organizational interpretations of the mission Lack of executive commitment: cynicism, skepticism, uncertainty or resistance influencing all levels of the organization Inability to actively integrate employees and all those involved in the organization in the effective support of the mission: ineffective communications Lack of planning and oriented instrumentation: consider the work of giving life to the mission as an additional “burden” or task to day-to-day work, rather than viewing it as critical to the job Inability to effectively handle interruptions, when they occur
RULES FOR THE INSTRUMENTATION OF AN EFFECTIVE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THE MISSION / VISION
- Be genuinely honest in preparing for the Mission Choose a process that works and stick to it Avoid falling into seduction and getting caught in potentially damaging or damaging shortcuts Take the time and effort to develop support activities implementation and integrating them into day-to-day business practices throughout the organization Anticipating problems and managing them before they occur by creating contingency plans.
"The main factor for the success of the mission statement is active leadership and support from top management."
ELEMENTS OF A MISSION STATEMENT3
Much has been written about the Mission and Vision of a company; in fact, there are hundreds of examples of them. What is presented here is hardly helpful and does not pretend to be a dogma to be followed strictly. The guide will be useful to the extent that it helps develop a mission statement that clearly communicates what the company is and wants to be in the future.
Some of the main elements can be:
- A description of the sector in which the organization operates: from the perspective of the organization The vision of the organization, sometimes in a very generic way, and sometimes described as a short and powerful strategic intention The assets or main strengths of the organization The generic strategies to pursue in order to achieve the mission The values to which the organization adheres in the pursuit of its mission.
DEVELOPING
- Description of the company / sector: description of the organization's clients, products and services, its geographical location and the areas in which it operates. It can be described from the perspective of the organization, so that the staff understand it. It should not be too generic, but simple and brief. The Vision: brief description of the strategic intention; defined and long-term goals without going into details. Elements of the Vision should be included in the Mission. Later, by developing the Vision itself, the vision of the future can be expanded. It must be attractive enough to convince people and broad enough to drive the business long-term.Fundamental Strengths: Can be invisible but important assets: corporate culture, brand image, consumer trust,distribution and management skills, etc. O Traditional visible assets, such as: workers, inventory, capital, etc. Strengths can also mean weaknesses. Generic strategies: they do not represent secrecy, but the way in which the company will fulfill its Vision. They can refer to corporate strategies, customer, service, competitive approach, etc. Others divide them into: service, market, organization. The generic strategy can even be expressed with a phrase (eg “competitive prices” to mean “cost leadership.” Values: those necessary for success. For many employees it is the most important part of the Mission. empty words of content.Strengths can also mean weaknesses. Generic strategies: they do not represent secrecy, but the way in which the company will fulfill its Vision. They can refer to corporate strategies, customer, service, competitive approach, etc. Others divide them into: service, market, organization. The generic strategy can even be expressed with a phrase (eg “competitive prices” to mean “cost leadership.” Values: those necessary for success. For many employees it is the most important part of the Mission. empty words of content.Strengths can also mean weaknesses. Generic strategies: they do not represent secrecy, but the way in which the company will fulfill its Vision. They can refer to corporate strategies, customer, service, competitive approach, etc. Others divide them into: service, market, organization. The generic strategy can even be expressed with a phrase (eg “competitive prices” to mean “cost leadership.” Values: those necessary for success. For many employees it is the most important part of the Mission. empty words of content.service, market, organization. The generic strategy can even be expressed with a phrase (eg “competitive prices” to mean “cost leadership.” Values: those necessary for success. For many employees it is the most important part of the Mission. empty words of content.service, market, organization. The generic strategy can even be expressed with a phrase (eg “competitive prices” to mean “cost leadership.” Values: those necessary for success. For many employees it is the most important part of the Mission. empty words of content.
THE VISION
The Vision is the image of what the people of the organization aspire to be. It is the visualization of the accomplishment of the Mission in a relatively short time: 3 to 5 years. In that sense, the Vision emerges from the Mission. It is the translation into reality of how the company will be in the immediate future as a result of fulfilling its Mission.
The Vision defines the “Promised Land” as a “dream” or “aspiration” attractive and powerful enough to drive and motivate the people who work in the company to “make possible” that dream into reality. The Vision should be like a magnet that attracts, something for which "it is worth" working.
The Vision is made to communicate to customers, suppliers, state and workers what type of company you want to be. It can be summarized in a short sentence or in a longer paragraph.
Some elements that the Vision must contain are:
- The central idea of the type of company that you want to be Domains in which the company will intervene Clients / Markets that it will serve or needs that it will satisfy Temporal dimension Physical description of the organization in the future Distinctive advantages that will be offered
EXAMPLES OF MISSION
- Girl Scouts: “Helping a girl reach her full potential.” Center for Living with Dying (Silicon Valley): “Providing emotional support to the dying and the heartbroken.” Otis Elevator Co. “Moving people and materials vertically and horizontal in relatively short distances. ”Kowloon Canton Railway Corp.“ To provide quality transportation, and relative services, in Hong Kong and the interior of China, in a safe, reliable, careful, cost-effective and responsible way to the environment. "John F. Kennedy (to the Apollo Missions):" Put a man on the moon. "Rodale Press (Publisher of books on health and self-help):" Teach people how they can use the power of their bodies and minds to make their lives better. 'You can do it', we say on every page of our magazines and books ”.
VISION EXAMPLES
- Airbus: "Become the world's second largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft." Factors Chain International: "Become the international standard for international factoring." DHL Worldwide Express: "Become the recognized global leader in immediate document and package delivery ".CHE GUEVARA:" The dreamed teaches us, asleep or awake, to realize where we are heading. "Bill Gates (1982):" Our Vision is very simple. It is a computer on every desk and in every home, running programs made by Microsoft! ”.
- Adaptation of the book "101 Corporate Mission Statements" by Timothy RV Foster. Panorama Editorial, Mexico, 2000. Geoffrey J. Nightingale, Pte. Young & Rubicam Inc. New York, Based on an article by Ferdinand de Bakker, General Manager, Burson-Marsteller, The Hague.
