Forget Mad Cow Disease. There is something even more contagious that has gripped the corporate world for decades. It's called Mission Statement Madness (MSM). So contagious that sooner or later every “leader” will succumb, and start a MSM project of their own.
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
Google ‘Mission Statement’ and millions of consulting firms will appear only too willing to confirm that without a Mission Statement your organisation is doomed to failure. And these consultants have the expertise to solve this problem. Funny that. Yet I have never seen any conclusive scientific research to say that a Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Purpose Statement or anything else of this kind of genre makes the slightest difference to a company’s performance. Indeed, there are an awful lot of companies with carefully crafted Mission Statements that fail - and fail spectacularly.
Remember Enron? They failed big when they were found to be deliberately defrauding investors - ie pensioners. A snipet of their Mission Statement: “We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves….”
Or how about Lehman Brothers who filed for bankruptcy after deliberately manipulating their balance sheet to hide “at risk” assets. Their Mission statement didn’t seem to help much either: “We are one firm, defined by our unwavering commitment to our clients, our shareholders, and each other“
And when Theranos declared in its mission statement that it wanted to “empower people everywhere to live their best possible lives” did that actually really mean the lives of Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani at the expense of everyone else? Either way, it didn’t seem to work.
Wander into any corporate reception area and you are more than likely to find a “Mission Statement” hanging on a wall somewhere. Even though I do not own a crystal ball or know of any distant Romany Gipsy relatives in my family tree, I can with a high degree of probability, predict what it says. Here goes: “we put our customers first…..blah blah blah….we value our employees…..blah blah blah…..we are fair and loyal to our suppliers….blah blah blah”. They might even be well up to date and mention something about “equal opportunities” and “environmental greenie-ness”. Sometimes they will include a nice picture of employees behind the directors, who will inevitably be white, middle aged, and male. Except perhaps for the HR director who will be white, middle aged and possibly female. Actually to be fair, the directors are usually not white but grey.
The funny thing is, if we were to walk in and cover up the mission statement with a tea towel, I can almost guarantee that the reception staff will be unable to tell you what it actually says. Or for that matter any other employees. Or indeed the directors. Strange that. Because although we haven’t seen it, you or I could describe it with a fair degree of accuracy.
I, for my sins, have also been involved in several MSM projects. And I'll admit that i have even succumbed to the MSM disease myself. But one especially memorable experience stands out. A dozen or so senior managers were tasked by the C suite to define a “Leadership Team Mission Statement”. We were to produce a document which, like many an aspiring american corporation, we would then be expected to sign to prove our unwavering support of the new corporate mission enshrining our fantastic collegiate culture..
Divided into two groups, we were each to produce our own draft. Off we went like little schoolchildren with flip boards and pens in hand. My group quickly established that this should not be a set of minutely crafted words but a brainstorm of key features we believed were important. Unfortunately, as we were soon to discover, the other group saw it differently. They set about crafting a legalistic document that even the skilled lawyers knife of Perry “ironside” Mason wouldn't be able to penetrate. While both groups were all in their unique ways trying to figure out how best to express a nurturing, kind, supportive, progressive and positive culture, the C suite were also busy. Having grabbed their own flip chart, off they went to identify those of us in our groups that should be fired. Really.
You just couldn’t make it up.
You probably won't be surprised when I say that once we realised what was going on we found it rather difficult to maintain our 'Mission Statement' motivation.
The exercise wasn’t exactly a success. The so called 'Mission Statement' quickly became a document of such legalistic complexity designed to stop any kind of freedom of thought or action. It needed to be signed of course. I didn’t bother. Not many of us did to be fair. Subsequently it was filed. And never referred to again.
If you haven’t been involved in a mission statement project yet then don’t worry. You will
soon. It's impossible to go through a corporate career without it. For every company - or rather every leadership team - will at some stage be infected with MSM. It often starts like this. New Leader. First 100 days. Need more profitability. Prove myself. Damn. Its going to take 2 years before any changes have a material effect. Let's do a corporate culture project. I know. We need a [new/revised] mission statement. And so the MSM fly has bitten.
Now leaders are not stupid. Well. Not all of them. So they will realise that they can’t just write one and expect everyone to suddenly adopt the new religion. Remembering a bit of their 2 year Executive MBA programme that they took online at ‘WhatsApp Business School’ they decide that a project group is needed to ensure employee “buy-in”. The fun begins. A group is formed. Either a small group (like the leadership team) thus ensuring that it cannot possibly be representative of the organisation. Or a much wider group that will still only represent less than 1% of the organisation / customers / suppliers thus ensuring that it cannot possibly be representative of the organisation. Before long any degree of motivating, real, fundamental, unique and inspiring content will be argued away. A draft will be presented. The 'Leader’ will point out that one or more of ‘customers/employees/ suppliers’ have been left out and it needs to go back to the drawing board. Finally, after weeks of meetings, conference calls and revisions the new “Mission Statement” will be unveiled. Put on the wall. And promptly totally and utterly forgotten.
The bottom line is that I have never ever met a customer who has placed an order (or not) because of a mission statement. Or an employee who has changed their behavior because of a mission statement. Or a supplier who has chosen to supply you because of a Mission Statement.
Does that mean that a Mission Statement is a waste of time?
Ask yourself this question: Why do I really need a Mission Statement?
are any of the answers the following?
Because all big companies have one
I need one to make me look good
The company culture needs to change
My employees can't possibly work without one
My boss will be impressed
There is a blank space on the wall in reception that I need to fill
If the answer is yes to any of the above then, honestly, you got the whole thing the wrong way round.
So is a Mission Statement is a waste of time?
Well. It depends. You see the mistake in all of this is staring us in the face. It's not the mission / vision / purpose statement that changes culture. It's the leader. It all starts from there. If you as the leader do not have the passion, the compelling vision, the inner moral compass and the downright determination to make a positive difference then how can you possibly expect a corporate Mission Statement to do it for you? Statements are not the start of change. You are. And change will happen through your actions. I don’t mean the projects
you start. Or the consultants you hire. I mean what you say, what you do, the decisions you make, the kind of risks you take, the people you support, the beliefs you express and fight for....popular or unpopular…..every day, every hour, every minute. Your force of character, your dedication to the extraordinary and positive change will create the culture the
organisation needs. Everything else is either clutter, diversion, or alternatively a form of supporting the main act: YOU and YOUR vision. It always starts with you. And when you can see that it's happening, that the culture is something people see, feel and believe, because they believe in YOU; then so too can you begin to feel proud , that your team can see and believe that the aspiration is worth striving for. And when that happens, and only then, should you crystallise your 'Mission Statement'. By then it will have become obvious anyway. Because by then you will have shown it in your heart. You will have proven that you live and breath it. That you believe in it. And therefore your employees will too.
Then take your Mission Statement. Hang it pride of place on the wall in reception. And be proud. Very proud.
Indeed very true. It is all down to us, because everyone can be a leader, no matter what is the OrgChart‘s position. It is a matter of decision and believe.