On a Mission

CC License: www.flickr.com/photos/wackystuff

You’re stuck in a business rut and you don’t know where to go next… have you reviewed your mission statement?  Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve thought about the mission of your business – or maybe you’ve never written one.  The time is now to re-think how your business will achieve the success for which you set out.

On Monday, we explored Starbucks’ Mission Statement and began to work through some questions to help craft (or re-craft) your business’ mission statement.  Today, we are going to explore some useful tips for the actual writing of it.

We recommend the following:

• Soul Search
  Turn off your computer and take the list from Monday’s post and go outside: soul search.  Get away from the daily “completion of tasks” and think about what you really want to accomplish with your business.
• Talk with others
  Ask your family members (who are probably well-versed on the good, bad, and ugly of being an entrepreneur.)  Talk with your employees.  Ask your fellow colleagues: other vendors, partners, suppliers.  Get thoughts from those around you and their perceptions of your business.
• Doodle
  Some people find doodling a great tool to brainstorm.  I like to use a program called MindManager.  It is a software that lets you create decision trees and outlines.  What you used to sketch out on paper (or chalkboard) you can now create on your computer.
• Explore
  I love reading other companies’ mission statements.  (Is that weird?)  It inspires me to be a better business owner.  And, it makes me think about what I want to achieve in my business.  I just stumbled upon missionstatements.com!  What an awesome resource for gazillions of mission statements.  I also like how they have personal and family mission statements too.
• Use exciting words
  The essence of your business should be exciting… don’t be afraid to use colorful words.  I don’t know where I’d be without my trusty thesaurus.

When you are finished exploring, piece it all together.  A good mission statement will include answers to the following:

• What is your business?
• How will you serve the people of your business (employees, customers, stakeholders)?
• What underlying philosophies drive your business?

Now, you’re ready for take-off!