You Don’t Need a Mission Statement to Know Why You Are In Business
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When is the last time you asked yourself, “Why are we in business?”
Was it at your last strategy retreat, or maybe it’s been even longer than that. Most likely you have a mission statement that you drafted (and then put in a drawer), but if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you know why you are really in business, you sell X to Y company.
But there is a better way of thinking about why you do what you do. In a recent FastCoDesign article Warren Burger prompts us to take a different perspective, he says:
"Most companies, of course, articulate their mission by way of a formal “statement.” But often they are banal pronouncements (We save people money so they can live better. --WalMart) or debatable assertions (Yahoo! is the premier digital media company) that don’t offer much help in trying to gauge whether a company is actually living up to a larger goal or purpose. Questions, on the other hand, can provide a reality check on whether or not a business is staying true to what it stands for and aims to achieve. The following five “mission questions” are designed to keep a business focused on what matters most.”
Why Are We Here?
So let’s put the mission statement aside for a second and talk about the goal and purpose of your business. Go back to why you started your business, remember what you wanted to accomplish. Answer the question, “Why Are We Here?”
For us at Two Roads, our mission purpose is to empower the small business owner with a high-tech back office. We want you to be free to spend your time where it matters most and equip you to quickly understand the health (and growth) of your business by looking at the financials in an easy to read format.
This purpose is why we get to the office early and why we stay late; our team is passionate about your success. When we help a partner through a difficult business transaction or do financial analysis that produces an eye-opening report, those are the times we feel and see our business purpose in action and experience the rewards of our labors. Certainly, our mission’s purpose is walked out by exceptional cloud based bookkeeping and answering the phone on the first ring, not to mention providing you with tools to access your most important documents at any time. However, these are not the reasons we come to work, these are just the means to accomplish our goals for you.
What's Your Purpose?
So that’s us; what's your purpose? What drives you everyday? For a deeper drive, take a look at the other five questions below and read the rest of the article. They'll guide you to crafting your own mission purpose.Five Mission Purpose Questions
1. WHY ARE WE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
2. WHAT DOES THE WORLD NEED MOST THAT WE ARE UNIQUELY ABLE TO PROVIDE?
3. WHAT ARE WE WILLING TO SACRIFICE?
4. WHAT MATTERS MORE THAN MONEY?
5. ARE WE ALL ON THIS MISSION TOGETHER?