37+ Sample Mission Statement Templates

What Is a Mission Statement?

A mission statement is basically a formal statement that highlights your organization’s purpose. Companies use them to explain or discuss their reason for existing briefly. Also, such statements help unify your business because every employee or member would then be reminded about their common goals, objectives, and tasks to fulfill. So if you are to introduce your company to a new client, then clients get the gist right away about what your company is serving. In short, focus on answering the question, “Why do we exist?”

According to Investopedia, a mission statement is so short that one sentence or a single but brief paragraph would already suffice.

Also, it was reported that corporate mission statements may not matter unless you wish to be an excellent leader.

On another note, Forbes reported that around 52% of UK employees couldn’t even state their company’s vision.

Why Are Mission Statements Important?

A mission statement is essential because it identifies your purpose and existence. And your identification is your brand. Remember that if you are running a business, customers would trust you more if you know your purpose and goals in the industry. So if you are unsure about your company’s brand or identity, it would be harder to market it. Like a goal statement, a mission statement also helps your employees stay focused. They would be reminded about the tasks to do and what is even better is you could encourage them in doing so. Push them forward to achieve common business goals.

Furthermore, mission statements are not one-dimensional. You can implement such a statement whether you are running a classroom, bakery, church, fashion retail, or even a starting small business. So for any organization you are a part of, you should have a mission statement. Although mission statements are helpful, the challenge lies in ensuring you can tie up things together clearly and concisely. And that is just what we are going to teach you later so stay tuned.

Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement

People often confuse a mission statement with a vision statement. Albeit such terms go hand in hand, they are quite different. Mission statements focus on an organization’s purpose and what it is currently doing. Meanwhile, a vision statement concerns setting future objectives. Hence, vision statements are more of what to conquer for the future. And both statements are important to express your brand properly. In fact, Forbes reported about how 52% of workers in the UK couldn’t even state their enterprise’s vision. And that should not be how your organization becomes since your work is more complete with both a mission and a vision statement.

The Important Qualities of a Mission Statement

Indeed, the mission statement explains a lot about your organization from its goals, what product or service to give, its stakeholders and clients to market, etc. But how can you say that your mission statement is already good enough? In this section, we will introduce you to the essential qualities of a well-written mission statement.

Organized: For a mission statement to be well-written, you have to organize the written statement itself. You need not write long vague sentences in a mission statement. What matters most is it is concise and understandable. Suppose your run a business that values education. It may be easy for you to state what your company does, how to work it out, and why you value education. But you have to state the mission statement as if you are not just answering those three questions. Summarize and arrange your details wherein a short paragraph or just one sentence can respond to such questions already.Practical: Sometimes you can make out a very well-spoken mission statement. But take a reality check for a second—is it doable? Practicality is worth considering because maybe you could hardly pursue the mission you are going for. An example is to state that you have extravagant plans without considering your limited workforce, resources, and budget. Be realistic as well. A mission statement can be changed anyway if you have new plans for the company. But be straightforward in going for a mission that is doable no matter what.Challenging: Do not be basic. A tip to become better in the industry is to recognize what makes your company different from other businesses out there. So as to your mission statement, add some challenge. Do not ever copy other businesses’ works. If your mission is not challenging, you might not see any growth after many years from now. There are many things to learn over time like excellent customer service, impressive leadership, creative training and advancement, etc. Aiming to improve should be an unstoppable mission.Inspiring: Finally, encourage both the organization members and your clients with an inspiring mission statement. Inspiration is very powerful since members of the organization need not see the mission as a command. Instead, they would feel encouraged that they are willing to pursue the mission. And to inspire, do not be selfish. Think about how the rest of the members, stakeholders, and customers would benefit from the mission. You could touch each person’s dream and personal life with an inspiring mission, for sure.

How to Make a Great Mission Statement

Sometimes, narrowing down your company’s purpose and focus in one statement is easier said than done. But not to worry because we will help you ace the process. Creating a mission statement is not that difficult when you learn how it works. So without further ado, here are six basic steps on how to create a great mission statement:

Step 1: Understand Your Organization

Conduct a full evaluation of your company first. What does your company do? Knowing what keeps your organization running helps you understand easily your purpose. Otherwise, you would struggle in writing a mission statement without acknowledging the full nature and background of your business. Start with the basics. What service or product do you give? There is no need to be fancy because this is still the first part. You can elaborate further in the next few steps.

Step 2: Describe Your Company

You already know your organization’s nature, purpose, and background. Now describe those in words. However, do not make it a technical description. Think about what your company values the most. And most importantly, describe in a way how you would introduce your brand to your clients. To do that, you would need important points to get their attention but remain as truthful as possible. Whatever it is that your organization values, present it properly.

Step 3: Explain What You Do and Why You’re Doing It

The key is to really explain clearly and shortly. Explain what you do and why. You can write long sentences for the moment in a document. Or perhaps, write different sentences of the same thought. After that, edit your words and form them into better versions. As you have many words and sentences in a draft, you can eventually pinpoint which versions are better. Aim to improve the wording until you are satisfied with how the mission statement is stated.

Step 4: Highlight What Makes Your Company Different

Do you still remember those important qualities of a mission statement? From being organized to being inspiring, be sure you observed them. And one example is to ensure you note how your company is different from other businesses. This part helps you stand out. But, you still need to maintain a straightforward and short statement. Also, mind the design and format of your statement. It is expected that you will use a document to make a formal statement. And our collection of sample templates above can guide you there.

Step 5: Mark a Lasting Impression

How to leave a lasting impression varies because you could either go for being catchy, trendy, or connect with your audience personally. But you have to avoid jargon, redundancy, and cliches. A tip is to look for other people and check their reaction in reading the mission statement you made. This does not have to be a one-person job because you can also get extra help from other members of the organization anyway. Let the rest of the team edit as well until you can all create a wonderful result.

Step 6: Commit to the Mission Itself

Forbes reported that corporate mission statements may not matter unless you want to become an impressive leader. So even if you made a splendid mission statement, it still wouldn’t matter if you cannot even lead properly and stick to the mission. Focus on your mission and it is crucial to let other members of the organization feel the same way too. Otherwise, simply having a few people who know and follow the mission would not unify the company at all. Put those strategic plans into action by observing the statement.

FAQs

How long is a mission statement?

Although organizations vary in terms of how long their mission statements are, it is known that mission statements are short in general. A single sentence or one brief paragraph is already enough to make it work.

What questions should a mission statement answer?

Expect a mission statement to answer three basic questions. And such questions are the following:

  • What does your business do?
  • How does your business do it?
  • Why do you do it?

How are a mission statement and a business plan different?

A mission statement focuses primarily on addressing the why of a business. Meanwhile, a business plan is more concerned with answering the how part.

Although a mission statement is quite short, putting a big effort in deciding and finalizing it is part of the process. This action-oriented statement already hold’s your organization’s purpose, what it does, general descriptions, core functions, and goals. So if anyone asks or wants to be reminded about what you do and why, mention your mission statement. And our sample templates will even help you construct it shortly and easily. So the final question is, what is your organization’s mission statement?