Mission Statements 7

[bridgebuster]

Are mission states generally nothing more than BS?

Our office is preparing one (although we have a corporate mission statement. Each department met to review the draft and provide input; then the management will craft the final version.

I disagree with the concept of mission statements for a number of reasons:

Inherently: we desire to do our best; we are basically honest; we care about others. Telling us what we already know is an insult.

One company's mission statement could easily be another company's statement (I think they're all the same anyway: "We will be the best, we care about everyone, blah blah, blah...). Everyone wants to be the best; everyone cares. Mission statements don't tend to be original and usually contain nothing to differentiate one company from another. And do nothing to inspire people.

A company's statement can also be hypcritical when they speak of concern for their employees. The leave out the footnote that says "we're concerned about the professional growth and development of our staff only when they meet utilization goals otherwise, like any commodity, when it has no value to us we get rid of it."

I could ramble on and on. Am I being cynical?

 

[satchmo]

Amen brother. I don't think you're any more cynical than anyone else I know. It can get like politics; the outcome is less important than the intent. As long as we say we are good and right and all the other stuff, it doesn't matter what reality is.

But of course, I could be a tad cynical too!

 

[TPL]

Your not being cynical, just realistic.

Mission Statements for external consumption are a waste of time - all the talk in the world won't cover up a failure to deliver and stop customers taking orders elsewhere.

"We might be cr*p but we've got a great mission statement" could apply to more than just a few companies out there.


However, mission statements for company internal use can be a good thing, just to remind everyone what the fundamental core business is and where their monthly salary check comes from: basically to help stop people going off on irrelevant tangents and wasting resources on useless pet projects.

At least Mission Statements are relatively harmless/amusing - does anyone still have to go through the yearly MBO charade?

 

[SnTMan]

Every one I have ever read is just corporate gobbldygook. It is mostly not possible to tell by reading one what a company even does.

As far as them all being pretty muuch identical, well they all have to go through Legal, right?

Regards,

Mike

 

[SomptingGuy]

Some mission statements are worthwhile if they prevent the company from wandering away from core business. If only the likes of Ford/GM/DC had one like "We intend to make and sell cars for profit."

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/games/career/bin/ms.cgi

 

[rhodie]

I think the idea behind "mission statements" is a noble one, but I'll heartedly agree that most of them represent esoteric garbage in excecution.

Having a commonly understood purpose is a very high-level and fundamental requirement of any team, but at the point that the execution of such a purpose involves flowery verbage most people jump off board.

My idea of a good mission statement would be:

1. Our customers define "quality", and they have other vending options besides our Company.

2. We are here to achieve excellence in supporting #1.

3. We will be flexible in the face of change.

 

[EddyC]

A friend told me of one that his former employer had:

"Above all else we will build good (insert product here),
At a profit if we can,
and at a loss if we can't."

My buddy told me that it should really have said:

"Above all else we will make a profit,
Building good (insert product here) if we can,
and bad (insert product here) if we can't."

My current employer and previous one were/are similar to this "Mission Statement".

 

[zdas04]

Every time I've seen a mission statement that caused people to do anything differently from what they were doing before it was generated, the disconnect was a failure in management. A well led oganization does not need a mission statement. A poorly led organization will not follow a mission statement. Bottom line this is a lingering flavor-of-the-week that wastes as much creative energy as anything I've ever seen.

David

 

[ewh]

Great link CBL! Think of the money it could save companies, while producing mission statements of the same or better quality!

 

[dcasto]

Trust me, you are correct about missions statments being ^%$*^%%((, but go with the flow, vent here and with others outside your company, and smile at and nod at work. As a matter of fact, jump in and add flowery words. I remember listening to people argue for two hours over which word to use for which "indusrty" we were competeing in. So we ended up with "arena"..... Gotta love all the accountants on that one.

Thanks to CBL

 

[FOETS]

Cmon Guys these initiatives keep the HR department busy along with all the other touch feely, group hug type initiatives.

Between those performance appraisal times they have to find something to do.
PA's - another system only HR seem to reap any benefit from. What a concept - talk to the employees once a year; and Eureka their performance takes a quantum leap ....ye right!

 

[JAE]

A good mission statement I once saw...

Company Mission Statement
[blue]Market like crazy
Rake in the dough
Buy lots of cool stuff[/blue]

I honestly believe that this is the true mission
of almost every business out there.

 

[tripleZ]

Dumb question, but is your company going for ISO certification (or something similar)? My parents' company was one of those small shops that operated pretty efficiently without one. Then we went for ISO registration to keep our customer base intact...and proceeded into the wonderful world of tree-killing (i.e. paperwork). Anyways, during our certification audit, our auditor actually asked employees on the floor what the company mission statement was. Thankfully a little birdie told us this might happen, so we had small notecards printed up for each guy to put in the top of his toolbox. Make sure it's something easy to remember, or easily printed on a small notecard (if you're going for ISO that is). I think my current company's mission statement and code of ethics list could take up a full 8.5x11 sheet of paper (in 12-type font)...=)

 

[GregLocock]

SomptingGuy oh, we've got mission statements:
Saturn:
To market vehicles developed and manufactured in the U.S. that are world leaders in quality, cost and customer satisfaction through the integration of people, technology and business systems and to transfer knowledge, technology and experience throughout GM.
Frod:
To satisfy our customers by providing quality cars & trucks, developing new products, reducing time it takes to bring new vehicles to market, improving efficiency of all our plants & processes, & building on our teamwork with employees, unions, dealers, & suppliers.

Man, now I feel motivated.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[davidbeach]

Greg, Was "Frod" deliberate or just a Freudian slip?

 

[WGJ]

Greg has it right. It's the Frod Mutter Co.


Bill

 

[bridgebuster]

"PA's - another system only HR seem to reap any benefit from. What a concept - talk to the employees once a year; and Eureka their performance takes a quantum leap ....ye right!"

Another useless activity. We should take this up in new thread.

 

[Beggar]

The one from Saturn is not bad if you edit it down to:

"To market vehicles developed and manufactured in the U.S. that are world leaders in quality, cost and customer satisfaction"

The one from Frod is fine if you cut it down to:

"To satisfy our customers by providing quality cars & trucks"

I would hope that such things are patently obvious to all but given that you've got the potential to have hired someone stupid enough to launch a rocket out of his rear [Ref Pat's Pub], perhaps it's not so bad to write it down.

To me, if a mission statment has more than about 15 words, it's just fluff-speak.

The problem is, any corporate mission is always superceded by the goals of each individual in the company.

CBL: Great link. Most mission statements I've seen look to have come directly from there.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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[SylvestreW]

meh, gotta keep the MBAs busy earning their 6+ figures.