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O P I N I O N
Simple and strong
A meandering mission statement won’t inspire your team. If you want your employees to rally around your brand, give them something they can believe in.
M ission statements are regarded with skepticism in this industry. Mission statements – defined as a short answer to the question, “Why does this company exist?” – are often met with eye rolling and quickly dismissed as hollow and unimportant. Creating a vapid, overstuffed mission statement is a mistake, and it’s one that can be avoided with thought and careful crafting.
Jamie Claire Kiser
with – one that has an exceptionally purposeful mission statement – recently told us that they have absolutely no trouble attracting and retaining young talent. That alone is a good reason to revisit and polish your mission statement! We see many mission statements as part of our strategic planning engagements, and we’ve “Creating a vapid, overstuffed mission statement is a mistake, and it’s one that can be avoided with thought and careful crafting.”
Effective mission statements give staff at all levels something to rally around in support of a larger purpose. This not only creates a happier workplace culture, with staff aligned on a common set of core values and goals, but also drives brand value. Employees who feel this sense of meaning in their job are more likely to be resilient in the face of change and temporary struggles, and to join forces rather than splintering under the weight of adversity. Although staff of every generation appreciate doing work that has meaning, we often hear that millennials, especially, need to understand the purpose, or the “why” to feel connected with their company. It should come as no surprise that one of the firms we work
See JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER July 16, 2018, ISSUE 1256
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