Having a mission/vision is wonderful, but I think defining a mission is likely wasted effort. It feels like make-work to me, like writing formal business plans.
Whose life gets better when a mission statement is published? What user is crying in the dark for want of your vision?
An excellent mission statement can definitely help with recruiting. A lot of people have read "Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." and thought "Ya, I'd like to help with that."
A well crafted mission statement can also be a tremendous help internally in terms of getting everyone on the same page. "What are we all doing here?" is an important question to answer once you have more than a few people working together.
A lot of people have read "Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." and thought "Ya, I'd like to help with that."
You're talking about Google. I'd presume things like good salary, geek-y friendly workplace, 20% project etc. helped much more with hiring than their motto. If Google didn't have a motto like that, but had all the other perks I mentioned, I think they would still be able to attract employees.
This may be the first time I've ever found myself disagreeing with you, patio11. I think you're taking an overly short-sighted view on this. Just the act of publishing the mission statement doesn't necessarily - in and of itself - make anyones life better. The question is, does the mission statement help your organization over the course of years or decades. Does the culture that you wind up with reflect the decisions that you made - and made concrete - very early on? Is it easier to make decisions that are in keeping with your principles if you've taken the time to articulate your principles and record them? I argue that the answer is "yes" to all of the above, which is why I believe a mission statement / values elicitation does have a purpose.
That said, it's not something I'd spend 3 weeks on, or something I'd pay $500,000 for a team of consultants to come in and assist with! It's - IMO - an exercise of a few hours of focused thinking and writing.
Comments
Having a mission/vision is wonderful, but I think defining a mission is likely wasted effort. It feels like make-work to me, like writing formal business plans.
Whose life gets better when a mission statement is published? What user is crying in the dark for want of your vision?
An excellent mission statement can definitely help with recruiting. A lot of people have read "Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." and thought "Ya, I'd like to help with that."
A well crafted mission statement can also be a tremendous help internally in terms of getting everyone on the same page. "What are we all doing here?" is an important question to answer once you have more than a few people working together.
A lot of people have read "Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful." and thought "Ya, I'd like to help with that."
You're talking about Google. I'd presume things like good salary, geek-y friendly workplace, 20% project etc. helped much more with hiring than their motto. If Google didn't have a motto like that, but had all the other perks I mentioned, I think they would still be able to attract employees.
This may be the first time I've ever found myself disagreeing with you, patio11. I think you're taking an overly short-sighted view on this. Just the act of publishing the mission statement doesn't necessarily - in and of itself - make anyones life better. The question is, does the mission statement help your organization over the course of years or decades. Does the culture that you wind up with reflect the decisions that you made - and made concrete - very early on? Is it easier to make decisions that are in keeping with your principles if you've taken the time to articulate your principles and record them? I argue that the answer is "yes" to all of the above, which is why I believe a mission statement / values elicitation does have a purpose.
That said, it's not something I'd spend 3 weeks on, or something I'd pay $500,000 for a team of consultants to come in and assist with! It's - IMO - an exercise of a few hours of focused thinking and writing.