- What is a mission statement?
That's our question today.
And whether you are a part of a large organization,
a small team, or whether it's just you,
by the end of the video,
you should be ready to write your own.
So let's get into the details.
(upbeat music)
This is the first video in a three-part series,
where we look at mission statements,
vision statements, and values.
Links to all three videos will be available
in the description below
as soon as those other two are posted.
Today, we'll look at the parts of a mission statement,
examples that will help you craft your own.
So here is my everyday working definition.
A mission statement declares an organization's purpose,
assignment, or job that it is setting out to do.
A mission statement is usually a single sentence,
or a very short paragraph for clarity.
And it focuses on the presence
and clarifies the day to day business of the organization
and what it's all about.
To put it even more plainly,
a mission statement is a concise job description
for the entire organization.
And it's usually worded with an inspirational flair.
Opinions vary on what a mission statement should include.
So feel free to post your own opinion on that
in the comment section below.
But most mission statements answer these three questions,
why, who, and how.
In no particular order, first,
a mission statement explains the why,
why your organization exists, the purpose.
Most mission statements explain or imply
the intended benefit or a contribution
the organization makes,
the problem the organization aims to solve,
the motivation that drives the enterprise,
the purpose or reason the organization exists.
For example, Heifer International
is a nonprofit organization.
And here's how they explain their mission.
"The mission of Heifer International
"is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth.
"Heifer does this by providing appropriate livestock,
"training, and related services
"to small scale farmers and communities worldwide.
Heifer's why or purpose is really clear,
to end hunger and poverty.
The company Tesla makes electric cars, among other things.
And their mission statement "is to accelerate the world's
"transition to sustainable energy."
Their why, their problem they want to solve
is spelled out in every word of this statement,
they are all about speeding up our transition
to sustainable energy.
The Khan Academy was a pioneer organization
in the area of online education.
And their mission statement
"is to provide a free world-class education
"for anyone, anywhere."
Their why is to educate people.
So a question for you,
what is your organization's why?
Or your personal, professional, why?
What purpose does your work serve?
What are you trying to solve?
Feel free to pause the video and make a note of that
because it'll help you draft a mission statement
at the end of the video.
The next part of a mission statement explains who
your organization serves.
The clients, customers, or community
the organization is trying to help, or the target audience,
the market, the organization wants to reach.
This can be very specific
in terms of the audience and market,
especially if you're a smaller organization.
Or it can be a huge community
if your organization is bigger.
So we look at Heifer International again,
their who is people who are poor and hungry,
but specifically small scale farmers and their community.
So they niche down.
Tesla's mission statement "is to accelerate
"the world's transition to sustainable energy."
The company YouTube that owns this platform
has a similar who in their mission statement.
"Our mission is to give everyone a voice,
"and to show them the world."
Big companies usually go after a big market.
For YouTube, their client is potentially everyone,
either making videos or watching videos.
But the who is not always spelled out
in mission statements.
It's often implied or already understood
simply by the business the company is in.
For example, Khan Academy's audience says "anyone anywhere,"
but their content, images,
and the other texts on their website
shows that their typical learners are kids in school.
In the U.S. we'd say K through 12, maybe.
So, yes, the company's reach is worldwide,
but they're aiming for students, specifically,
in that age group.
Here's another where an audience for the organization
is implied or understood
simply by what the organization has to offer.
There's a luxury sailboat company named Oyster.
And this is an interesting one.
Let's see if you can figure out who their customer is
just by looking at their mission statement.
Oyster's "mission remains simple:
"to design, build, deliver, and support
"the finest bluewater sailboats,
"capable of sailing safely,
"anywhere in the world in comfort and luxury."
So who do you think their target audience
or customer is, their who, as we have been saying.
To me, just at a glance,
their customers are people who sail,
because these are sailboats, that narrows it down.
Phrases like "bluewater" and "anywhere in the world"
mean that their customers are the types of sailors
who want to sail across oceans.
And words like "finest," "comfort," and "luxury,"
also tell me that their target customers
have plenty of money.
So in some cases like this,
mission statements define their who
in the context of the rest of the mission statement.
Question, what about your work?
Who is your audience or target market?
Now, unless you're a huge organization,
it's best to be specific about who you intend to reach.
My channel, Communication Coach,
aims mainly to reach professionals and emerging leaders.
And it's true that students and lots of other people watch,
everybody's certainly welcome.
But most of my videos are for people
who are already working professionals.
But back to your story, who do you,
or who does your organization want to serve?
What community are you trying to reach?
Feel free to comment on that
in that section below the video.
And lastly, the third piece of a mission statement
is the how.
The how explains the basic method
or strategy the organization uses to do business,
the way the organization accomplishes its work,
the distinctive approach
that makes the organization different.
Khan Academy's approach to online education
is to make it free.
They are not trying to compete with Harvard,
those fancy schools, or paid services online
like Skillshare.
Their content is free to students.
That's their how, their distinctive approach.
Not all organizations spell out their how
in their mission statement itself.
Some organizations in fact use extremely concise
mission statements, maybe just a phrase.
And then they give the rest of the details
in what's really an expanded version
of their mission statement and other places on the website.
The organization TED is well-known
for the different lectures and inspirational talks
that they post in video form on their website.
Their mission statement is about as concise as they get.
TED's mission is to spread ideas.
That's the heart of it.
But without additional details,
if that were the only language of the mission statement,
it doesn't make any sense at all.
It could mean anything.
But on that same page, right around that,
in their text, TED explains in a couple of paragraphs
what that means.
The how of spreading ideas is through things
like talks and lectures that are 18 minutes long,
that are meant to be educational and inspirational.
They come from respected experts,
and they are done in over 100 languages.
That's their how, their method or approach
to spreading ideas.
Some organizations give a really concise
mission statement like this,
but then they spell out the rest
in another paragraph or so.
Now, whatever approach organizations take,
a textbook mission statement will explain
the why, who, and how in one way or another.
Question for you, what is your specific how?
Is there anything that is unique
or strategic about the way you do business?
What makes you stand out even a little bit from others?
Now let's get into even more direct application.
Here's where you can take what we've talked about
and draft your own version of a mission statement.
This can focus on you personally, as a professional,
or any kind of organization or team that you are leading.
So the bottom line question is this,
what is your assignment?
What is a concise job description of what you
or your organization does?
That includes those three elements,
your why, who and how.
And you can put these in whatever order makes sense to you
and shape it into a sentence that works.
But to sum it up, your why explains the reason
your organization exists.
What is the problem you're trying to solve?
What benefit do you want to create?
And second, who are you trying to serve?
What community are you trying to reach?
And if you are a massive worldwide organization,
your audience is going to be a big one.
But if you are a smaller type of organization
that only serves a niche market,
then how would you boil that down?
Who is your customer?
And third, how do you do it?
What is your unique or strategic way to get it done?
What method or approach do you use
to offer your product or service?
Now you take those answers,
those three building blocks, and shape it into a statement
that is essentially a concise job description for you
or your organization.
If you keep it concise, it'll be much more clear.
If you fancy it up too much,
it'll just sound like a marketing statement
instead of a mission statement.
Before we go, remember that there are two more videos
in this series.
The next one is on vision statements.
And the third one is on organizational values.
And I'm going to post one video each week after this one.
And when all three are done,
I will put links to them
in the description below this video.
And you can always find any videos on the video tab
on my YouTube channel.
Thanks, God bless.
And I will see you soon.