Do I need a mission statement?
A mission statement helps your business have a focus outside of the normal commercial world. It gives the business a greater relevance in the world that we live in. It is a statement to define how the company seeks to make the world a better place
Why do I need a Mission Statement?
It can be that you encourage people to think and care for the environment more or that you want to have a positive impact and consider the people in the world less fortunate than yourself. If you want to give charity to people and help us all have a better life. It is the wider vision statement that you have for your company.
We cannot help feeling that during the pandemic that we are and have been living through that all of our lives are interconnected. What happens on the other side of the world can still have an impact on us now and in the future. To ignore the problems in other parts of the world will impact us at some point. We can't just ignore them.
Having a clear mission statement and communicating that to your customers and employees gives you a wider relevance in their eyes and means that you transcend the normal. You are not just a creative agency, you are a creative agency with a good mission statement and a company culture to create a positive impact on the world.
What is the meaning of north star?
The North star in astronomical terms is the Polaris. It is one of the navigational stars that were used before smartphones to navigate your way to a destination. It can be found by looking for the constellation called the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper above it. It is the brightest star at the handle at the end of the Little Dipper constellation.
The North Star is the only bright star in relation to the earth that does not move, the North Star will always point north.
In business the north star is referred to as the business mission statement. The reason for the business to exist. Without this definition the business lacks relevance in the minds of its employees and customers.
If you have no relevance why should they buy from you and work for you? Having this North Star as your reason for being lets the employee and customer buy in to your reason for existing, the reason to get up in the morning and work for you and not your competitor?
The North Star is often confused with the Christmas Star. They are both alike in that they are both giving guidance and direction to the people following them. The Christmas Star gave the direction for the three wise men to visit Jesus with gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
It leads them to their destination, guiding them on their path. The North Star of your business will do the same. It will guide you on your path to a better future for you, your employees and the wider population.
How does it help my business?
The mission statement or North Star shows what your business stands for and how it delivers its services to its customers and how it relates to its staff. It shows the DNA of the company of what it is and what it does.You need to know this and so do your staff and customers.
It informs you how to deal with every situation that you find yourself in. It defines the company culture and helps the company goals and business plans in the short and long term. Before you start anything for your business you need to know what this is, it will help shape everything in your business from your marketing to your staff handbooks and procedures.
This mission statement needs to be written down and you need to make sure that it is relevant to your company now and in the future and use it to help define what your company is and what it stands for. If you don’t have this statement you can’t market your company effectively and plan for the future.
How to make people aware of this?
The values that you include in your mission statement need to be communicated to your staff and your clients. This should be implicit in everything that you do. The way you recruit and attract staff, the mission statement and your values must be able to be seen. The way you market your company will be influenced by your values and your mission statement.
If you want people to have freedom in their business and to try to make an impact on the world and help people less fortunate than yourself it needs to be shown in your marketing. You don’t have to say it explicitly but it should be implied.
This is the filter in which your company views the world and the people in it and it should be represented in everything that you do. It is the DNA of the company that comes from the owner and founder who form these values and how they want to represent themselves and their company.
How to do this in practice?
As we are now approaching the festive season it is the time for giving and we are thinking of giving more in our personal lives, but we should also be thinking about giving more in our business.
You need to make the process of giving a part of your business to have a culture of looking outwards and not inwards, to look to see what impact you can make on the outside world and make steps to implement that change in your business.
Signing up as a company for the 17 sustainable development world goals is a big step in the right direction to give focus to how your business can impact the world outside your business and have a positive impact on the earth. This can be through environmental, social or economic change. We are very lucky to have been born in this time and the western developed world. We should give thanks for that at this time of year and make a more determined resolution to help people less fortunate and to make sure that we protect our environment for future generations.
When you sit down this year over the holidays take time to spread a bit of happiness in the world. Stop thinking about how fortunate you are and spend some time to think of others and the planet that we love on and make it your plan in the New Year to make a contribution to the sustainable goals to make the world a better place.