Mike Landman

Mike Landman

Observations On Business. Maybe a Little Preening. And A Few Lessons Learned.

If It’s a Mission, Shouldn’t It Be Clear?

Why are mission statements always so lame? Why, when given a very small amount of ink to communicate something clearly, do most companies fail? This is one I saw today:

(Company X) was founded to help performance-driven companies
improve the effectiveness of their field sales and service
organisations [sic] using innovative on-demand wireless and data transaction
management technologies.

Well, I don’t get it really. Who doesn’t think they are performance-driven? Actually, I’m not even sure what that means. And is anyone really in the market for "innovative on-demand wireless and data transaction
management technologies?" I mean I get it, sort of. But it’s pure MBA-speak, and has no real meaning.

What if it said:

Company X connects salespeople to their data wirelessly so they always have the answers they need.

That I get. That I WANT! That, if I were an employee of Company X, would help me compare my daily activities to what the company wants to accomplish.

If it’s a mission – make it clear.

1 Comment

  1. John Reid

    All mission statements sound like that because all mission statements are written by a room full of executives who will justify their next two months of salary by their contribution to the statement. And so, you end up with laughable, bloated frankensentences.

    Reply

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