Mission to Gain Margin
When I think about the phrase, “No margin, no mission” I lean into MISSION and the importance mission and particularly mission statements play in business. When she uttered the words “No margin, no mission,” Sister Irene Kraus’ message was about fiscal stability and strength. She used words that made her point masterfully and it stuck! Mission statements are no different. Your mission statement must be impactful, motivating, and memorable. When mission statements are long and arduous to remember it is highly likely that your staff does not know it, cannot recall what it says, and thus are not tied to it in their daily work. Particularly for companies with culture challenges, this can be a great starting point to set a positive tone for the internal staff and to showcase to customers that you stand for a stated purpose.
When a workforce is engaged together around a single mission, they better understand why they are doing what they do and typically feel a pride and ownership in the success of the organization. I have seen it first-hand. In fact, when I was working in healthcare as the VP of Public Affairs and Marketing, I was asked to re-write the mission of the then 125-year old organization. The task felt extremely daunting and impossibly important to “get it right.” I felt pressure knowing that the newly drafted mission statement would then become the responsibility of thousands of people to carry it out. I knew it had to strike the right tone, evoke emotion and be motivating. After all, if it was not motivating, what purpose would it have at all? After much work, we tested, tweaked and then committed to a revised mission statement. It came down to three words that people agreed had meaning, motivated them and was memorable…Inspire, Heal, Serve.
For new businesses, my advice is to take care in this process and make sure your mission statement reflects who you are and what you aspire to be for your customers. For organizations that have existed for decades, dust off your mission statement and test it. Does it still carry the same meaning it did when it was first written? Do the people who carry out your mission know it? Are they motivated by it? What do they really feel? The answers to these basic questions may lead you to want to consider revising or completely rewriting your mission statement. The result could have a striking impact on the organization as a whole and infuse camaraderie and pride in your greatest asset, your people. It does not matter if you are a large company, small company, new or mature, it is known that happy motivated people will undoubtedly help you achieve both goals…mission and margin.
For more information about mission statements, value propositions, brand personality and more, email me at
susanna@fiercomnsulting.com or visit my website at
www.susannafierconsulting.com.
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