Friday, October 9, 2009

Mission (Not Impossible) Statements

I'm working on mission statements for a client today and it has me thinking about how we summarize our company's mission. Can you state why your company exists in just one sentence? The best mission statements are short, clear and powerful. Nelson Mandela's is "End Apartheid." Abraham Lincoln's was "Preserve the Union." A great mission statement has a certain energy to it - it draws you in and makes you almost want to be a part of what the company is trying to do. I can say I sit at a desk and write about PR, but that doesn't exactly fire anyone up. But if I focus on the outcome of what I do, I might say something like "my mission is to empower entrepreneurs to share their companies' stories with power and grace." Better.

If your mission statement is too lengthy to be memorable, or if you don't have a mission statement, consider scheduling some time to play around with it. When you hit the right combination of words that makes you feel excited, you're on to something.

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