Brigantine Media

Reprinted with permission by Progressive Grocer.

After 22 years of my traveling, learning and teaching, Progressive Grocer has taken a leap of faith and asked me to write a recurring column about the business I’ve loved since I was 14 years old.

Upon agreeing to the invitation, I immediately set out to write my mission statement for this column: “To make a difference by offering practical solutions to the myriad issues that challenge all of us in retailing today. Additionally, I pledge to Deliver (D) more than the reader would ever Expect (E) from a one-page presentation. Algebraically, my mission for this column could be written as D>E.”

Every meaningful initiative, both in business and personally, should begin with a mission statement or statement of purpose. The 48 words above will keep me focused on the task at hand. They will help me avoid straying into areas that may be less relevant to my target audience.

Your business should also have a mission statement to keep you focused. And this statement should be shared with every human being in your organization. Every meeting at every level should begin with the recitation of your mission statement … in unison or solo with a volunteer. If we say it often enough, not only will we begin to take it to heart but our folks will, too.

I smile now as I reflect on the early days of Wal-Mart. To think of how many of us used to pooh-pooh the Wal-Mart chant (mission) they used to kick off each day with at every Wal-Mart store. “How corny!” I heard many a skeptical retailer retort. And now, look at us and look at them. Their daily recitals weren’t corny. Rather, they were the seeds of a unified focus taking root.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish,” it says in Proverbs 29:18. Stated more positively, we can express this idea as “Where there is a shared vision, there is power.”

How do you share your vision? Whether you’re a company president, a department manager or a parent, you are a leader. And if you expect to develop a following, you had better have a vision and be aggressive about sharing it with your followers, to give them a clear path to follow.

A mission statement is the vehicle that helps us share our vision and unify our focus, much like how a magnifying glass can collect daylight and focus it into a bead of powerful energy. Because many businesses have not committed to documenting and sharing their vision and mission, their associates are symptomatically unclear as to the true meaning of
their efforts. They end up feeling directionless, and that turns boring and unfulfiling really fast.

Drafting a Mission Statement

Done right, a mission statement can become a beacon of light, a rallying point, a benchmark, a guidepost, or all of the above. In the long run, you’ll undoubtedly save time and money, and get “there,” wherever that may be, faster than you ever would have before.

If you don’t have a mission statement, or the one you have is essentially “wallpaper,” here’s my recommendation to you: Recruit a group of 15 to 30 dedicated associates from all levels in your organization and draft a mission statement together. It can take around four hours if they conscientiously do some homework (their individual attempt at a company mission statement), or eight or more hours if they show up less prepared. Then pass the first draft around to more people in the organization for feedback. Is it inspirational? Does it generate “goose bumps”? Does it evoke pride and sense of purpose? If not, reconvene for a few hours and make the necessary refinements, then hoist it up the company’s flagpole for all to salute.

Here’s a personal offer: I have budgeted some time to review the first 20 mission statements sent to me. I’ll be candid and frank with my evaluations, and will provide a push in the right direction if your statement needs one. Send your mission statement to Harold@hlloydpresents.com.

Postscript

After each article, I will invite you to evaluate the value of my message by e-mailing me a rating from 1 to 10, along with any constructive/complimentary remarks. I’ll need your feedback to help me to continually improve this column. Although I’ve written
two books and conducted 35 seminars over the last two decades, this is a new endeavor for me and I do want to Deliver (D) more than you’ll Expect (E) from a one-page column, (D>E).

Thank you for the time you have invested in reading these thoughts. I hope you feel we’re off to a productive start.

Harold Lloyd is a retail specialist, author, teacher and presenter. He is the author of “Am I the Leader I Need to Be?” For more information about Harold and his book, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.

Also visit Progressive Grocer.