I believe it was Jerry McGuire who said, “I began writing what they call a mission statement. Not a memo; a mission statement…you know, a suggestion for the future of our company. I entitled it ‘The Things We Think, and Do Not Say’.” Now as far as mission statements go, I’m not sure that is the gold standard and if you’ve seen the movie you know it didn’t go over well inside that organization.
The truth is everyone and every organization has a mission statement. They are focusing time and energy in a certain direction with passion and hope. Any company worth their salt works really hard to communicate it to the world because it is supposed to tell someone what their purpose is and where the company is going. They clearly speak to what the organization is about and defining the change they want to see in the world. If you can’t communicate mission, you can’t gain momentum.
As good as a mission statement is for an organization, it’s not really complete unless it has core values spelled out in support of it. It can be difficult to distinguish mission from core value so here is one attempt. The mission statement indeed speaks to the organization’s reason for being and where the organization is going. Core Values, on the other hand, are the things that define who you are as you get there. They act as attributes in support of the mission or vision and shape the internal culture of your organization. The mission lays out why we exist while core values tell us who we will be in pursuit of that goal.
What should you do?
As part of our strategic planning inside 412 Project, we engage in thoughtful conversation and helpful tools to look at your mission statement. The questions we ask to help develop a list of anywhere from 4-6 core values are:
- What are the defining features of your organization?
- Is there a word that defines how you operate?
- Are there guiding principles that help define how your team is to act?
One non-profit leader says that your mission statement is the thing you hang on the wall for everyone to see, but your values are happening down the hall. Meaning that your mission statement is nice but if it isn’t showing up in how the people work, then it doesn’t hold weight. Whether they are good or bad, your organization’s values are on display by how people in your organization work with one another and treat the community you serve.
Back to Jerry for a moment. I actually don’t think Jerry’s problem with the Sport’s Agency was one of mission. It was actually one of values and how they were dysfunctional in their work together and for their clients. He wanted to do things differently. And maybe you are at this same crossroads. You are about the same mission as you’ve always been but sense a need or desire to see yourself or your team do things differently. It could be time to take an honest look at reevaluating or developing your core values as a critical next step in your organizations journey.