BRIEF CASE

Mission Statements

Andrew Campbell

M I S S I O N STATEMENTS CAN BE VALUABLE for a number of reasons. They can be a tool for getting senior man- agers to discuss their differences and thrash out a common view. As a tool for stimulating debate, a mission statement does not need to be published. It can be a whol ly private process.

Mission statements are more normally an expression of a company's purpose and ambition. A sort of company flag to rally round and a signpost for all stakeholders. These mission statements need to be short and memorable: 'We try harder', Avis; 'The Listening Bank', Midland Bank; 'Maru C', Komatsu's famous rallying cry translated as 'encircle Cater- pillar'; 'The World's Favourite Airline'.

Mission statements are also used to guide behav- iour. Like the 10 commandments or a set of new year's resolutions, these missions statements define values and behaviour standards for managers and stake- holders. Hewlett Packard's the HP way includes instructions on how to 'manage by wandering around', a central plank of HP's management phil- osophy. Mars' five principles include an appeal for 'mutuality ' , the family-comes-first glue that binds Mars together. These mission statements can be as short as 10 commandments or as long as the bible, but the shorter ones are more likely to be ingested.

Finally mission statements can be a celebratory symbol of a company 's culture. Describing, in com- pany jargon, those things that are most important and giving those who read it a warm feeling about their

membership of the organization and its culture. A form of reinforcement advertising. One page is prob- ably sufficient for this purpose. Dana Corporation's Ten Key Thoughts (see exhibit) is an example

How do you know if you have a good mission state- ment? It depends on the reason for producing it. But for companies who are trying to do all of the above there is a test. Score each of the questions in 'Do you have a good mission statement' 0, 1 or 2 and add up the total. A score of over 15 is exceptional. A score of under 10 suggests more work needs to be done.

A good mission statement, however, does not necessarily add value. In fact it may do serious harm.

Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people Dana people

Ten Key Thoughts

serve the shareholder are our most important asset accept only total quality discourage centralization do what's best for all of Dana participate and innovate compete globally focus on the customer communicate fully are good citizens

~ Pergamon PII: S0024-6301(97)00084-8

Long Range Planning, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 931 to 932, 1997 © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Printed in Great Britain

Do You Have a Good Mission Statement?

Does the statement describe an inspiring purpose that avoids playing to the selfish interests of the stakeholders? Does the statement describe the company's responsibility to its stakeholders? Does the statement define a business domain and explain why it is attractive? Does the statement describe the strategic positioning that the company prefers in a way that helps to identify the sort of competitive advantage it will look for? Does the statement identify values that link with the organization's purpose and act as beliefs that employees can feel proud of? Do the values 'resonate' with and reinforce the organization's strategy? Does the statement describe important behaviour standards that serve as beacons of the strategy and the values? Are the behaviour standards described in a way that enables individual employees to judge whether they are behaving correctly or not? Does the statement give a portrait of the company, capturing the culture of the organization? Is the statement easy to read?

Mission statements that contain values and behaviour standards (as most do) stimulate three kinds of response. First is the yawn of boredom. The statement is mouthing motherhood and the reader thinks of the trees that could have been saved. Second is emotional support. The reader is saying yes inside. The reader recognizes the values and feels uplifted by being associated with them. It brings an emotional applause. The third is emotional resistance. The reader recognizes that the values and behavionr stan- dards are different to his or her own. The reader feels a form of values persecution, like a Hindu would feel if asked to sign up to a Christian creed.

The first response is neutral. The second is positive. The third can be seriously damaging. The person who feels persecuted will become a cynic and use humour to undermine the message. When British Petroleum issued a mission statement that included an appeal for a balanced home and work life, many of the hard- est workers in the company started to ridicule the document. When the head of a major city police force

wanted to change the values of his front line police officers, he issued a new mission statement as a hard backed booklet. The police officers who felt uncomfortable with the new values soon made fun of this document 'The only value of our mission state- ment is that you can put it down the front of your trousers before going out to fight crime' was the stan- dard joke.

A good mission statement is a powerful document designed to give clarity and evoke an emotional response. The statement must not be too far ahead of the current situation or it will be dismissed with 'If they think that's how we work around here, they are as crazy as I always thought they were'. Senior man- agement must be able to walk the talk. Unless the statement matches senior management 's behaviour, it will have little credence and may do more harm than good.

Andrew Campbell is a director of Ashridge Strategic Management Centre.

Brief Case--Mission Statements