Company mission: examples and technologies for creating a Mission
A mission is needed both by the organization and by each individual. Some manage to find an organization while working in which they manage to implement their own Mission.
The company's presence of a Mission can be compared to the presence of a ship with a guiding star in the sky, which it is guided by in order to continue its further journey, without having an accurate map of the area. A company’s mission is not a panacea for all ills, but its presence can inspire people, help them feel the meaning and significance of their work, and understand why they should get up in the morning and come to your office. It's up to you to decide why you exist. Mission and purpose, like a magnet, attract the best people to the company, and gives clients the opportunity to once again be convinced that you really care about them.
100 best Missions of Western and Russian companies: read below
If your company has , we can help you convey it to all target audiences of the organization. Perhaps you are ready to upgrade your Mission? Then we will be able to tell you how best to formulate the Vision and Mission of the organization. If you have both, contact us in order to choose the right strategy to realize your Vision and realize your Mission! But first, read to the end - and look at examples of the Missions of many successful companies!
Every top manager sooner or later needs to answer the question: which development path to choose: short-term profit or strategic and socially significant direction? And depending on this choice, top managers and business owners determine their lives. The stress level of constantly searching for short-term profits and participating in fierce competition becomes unbearable. And its creators feel less and less sense and joy from the activities of such an organization. Therefore, the questions of Meaning, Vision, Mission and the use of tools to bring all these intentions to life become more relevant than ever.
Modern business is characterized by a high level of uncertainty and a high rate of change occurring in almost all industries. , but while we think about it, “now” turns into “yesterday”, and many ideas become either irrelevant or implemented by someone else. The question arises: how to develop a business and how to choose priority areas? Studies of the best companies both abroad and in Russia clearly indicate that success is more often achieved by those organizations that have a clearly formulated Mission that is shared by all its employees.
"Does our organization need a Mission?, and if necessary, then what is it?” Many companies do not look for an answer to this question and, as a result, their activities are rather chaotic and unsystematic. This kind of activity is aimed at “short-term” or “instant” profit. Such companies participate in a race where they and their competitors are doing, and they have to “run just to stay in place." Some organizations have a mission slogan that hangs on their website, but none of the employees know it. Can we say that do such companies really have a Mission, and that in carrying out their activities they act based on the Vision? No! They go with the flow!
So does an effectively operating business need a Mission or not? If the company’s business brings stable profits even without a Mission, then maybe treat this phenomenon as a fashion trend that will soon pass? The world is changing too quickly to hesitate. Behind the formulation of the Mission there is always the uniqueness of the company, and the Values that are important both to the organization’s personnel and to its managers, shareholders and clients.
“The mission is the glue that prevents the company from falling apart as it grows, decentralizes, and diversifies.”
If a company has neither uniqueness nor values, it may simply have access to good resources and will be able to survive for a while (depending on where it is in its life cycle). What then? The difference between companies following their Mission and ordinary companies lies in the quality of their development and those with a Mission will implement it and move to a new stage, while companies floating with the flow will most likely lose their bearings and face the problem of self-determination and survival.
100 EXAMPLES OF MISSIONS OF FAMOUS COMPANIES:
Here are examples of missions of successful companies (their short versions are slogans), which show how in one or two lines you can explain the reason for the existence of an organization:
- Kodak "We help the world create memories and make money."
- Disneyland "We work to ensure that adults and children spend more time together."
- The mission of Castorama stores is that we help customers make their homes more perfect and comfortable, transform the labor-intensive and costly process of repair and arrangement into an interesting hobby that is accessible to everyone.
- "The mission of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is to provide tireless care and provide maximum comfort to every guest."
- Mary Kay's mission is: "To enrich the lives of women around the world by offering clients quality products, independent beauty consultants and unlimited career opportunities, ensuring that the women who come across Mary Kay can realize their true potential."
- Google's mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
- Facebook's mission is to "empower people to connect and make the world a more open and connected place."
- IKEA: "everyday life of ordinary people."
- XEROX: "Sharing knowledge through documents."
- The Bank of New York: We strive to be recognized as a global leader and partner of choice in helping our clients succeed in a world of rapidly evolving financial markets.
- Harley-Davidson: We make people's dreams come true using our experience in creating the best motorcycles!
- Yandex's mission is to help people solve problems and achieve their goals in life.
If your company cannot be recognized by the wording of the Mission, it means either your Mission is unsuccessful, or the company needs to define its Uniqueness!
- Apple's mission:“Apple makes Macs the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and software. Apple continues the digital music revolution with its iPod and iTunes. Apple rediscovered the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad."
- Zappos' mission is to provide customers with the best value possible.
- Amazon's mission is to be "the most customer-conscious company on Earth."
- Samsung's mission - We use the company's human and technological resources to create products and services of superior quality, thereby contributing to the improvement of the global state of society.
- Twitter's mission is to enable everyone to share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.
- Sberbank's mission is: We give people confidence and reliability, we make their lives better by helping them realize their aspirations and dreams.
- Enter company mission: - We are for the present. Honestly. With love. As for myself.
- Citibank's mission is Citi works tirelessly to benefit citizens, communities, organizations and nations. Using 200 years of global experience in solving complex problems and realizing existing opportunities, we strive to deliver the best economic results for our clients by offering simple, creative and responsible financial solutions. We unite more than 1,000 cities, 160 countries and millions of people.We are your global bank. We are Citi.
- JTI Tobacco Company Mission: Our mission is to create a powerful international tobacco company that provides maximum benefit to its shareholders, employees, consumers and society as a whole, and strives to achieve a leading position in its industry.
Apple Computer, Inc. Mission at the beginning of its activities, "We offer the highest quality computers to people around the world."
Best Friends Animal Society's mission: A better world through kindness to animals.
A company's mission is a stated statement as to what or why the organization exists, other than making a profit.
Ask a question about the Mission!
- McDonald's Mission: To be our customers' favorite place to eat or drink.And the formula for achieving this is one old McDonald's formula: KKCH and D, which means Quality, Service Culture, Cleanliness and Availability.
- BMW Mission: BMW Group is the world's leading provider of premium products and premium services for personal mobility.
- Valio - “To feel good”
- Lukoil mission: We were created to convert the energy of natural resources into...
- Polaroid's Mission: To advance the instant photography and digital market to meet people's growing need to capture the faces of friends and family, places dear to their hearts, and life's funny moments.
- Daria's mission: "To free consumers for a fulfilling life by producing high-quality easy-to-cook products."
- Levi-Strauss Mission Statement: “We will bring the world's most beautiful and best-loved casual clothing to market. We will dress the whole world."
- Toyota's mission: To give our customers the pleasure of high-quality Toyota vehicles. We are responsible for every car we sell. We, in which Toyota professionals use their many years of experience, as well as knowledge of advanced Toyota technologies, meet the interests of our discerning customers. The Company's mission is to maximize customer satisfaction by providing reliable and safe TOYOTA products and providing a network of high-quality service and qualified maintenance.
The New York Public Library's mission is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities.
Walmart's Mission: We save people money so they can .
- Gazprom: OJSC Gazprom Gazenergoset, as a specialized operator of OJSC Gazprom, sees its mission as providing consumers with products from gas and oil refining enterprises of the Gazprom group, while maintaining a high level of safety and consistently developing activities related to the sale and use of these products.
Unilever's mission is to energize life. We meet people's daily food and hygiene needs. Our brands help you feel great, look great and get more pleasure from life.
The mission of the Coca-Cola company is based on 3 principles, which are formed as follows: Refresh the world, body, mind and spirit; through our drinks and our deeds; Bring meaning to everything we do. Our vision is based on five words that reflect our values! Each of them is based on a word that, coincidentally, begins with the letter “P.” This is what the five Ps sound like: Personnel, Planet, Products, Partners, Profit!
Megafon's mission: MegaFon will unite Russia, breaking down barriers and developing communications to become everyone's obvious choice. MegaFon proceeds from the company's social mission, which is to create conditions for people to communicate, without regard to borders and distances.
Microsoft Company Mission (Microsoft):Our mission at Microsoft is to help people and business organizations around the world fully realize mine Achieving this goal requires talented, energetic, bright and creative people with the following virtues: integrity and honesty, enthusiasm, openness and respect, willingness to solve complex problems, self-criticism and responsibility.
Youtube video hosting mission: to provide quick and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.
Lenovo company mission (Lenovo): For those who do! For those who do! (alternatively, “For those who act!”). At Lenovo, our vision is that Lenovo will create personal devices that inspire more people, inspired by our own culture, and through which we build a business respected around the world. This Vision guides us in achieving our mission to become one of the world's greatest technology companies. We will do this through: Personal Computing, Convergence and Culture.
MTS Company Mission: We work to make MTS the best operator for its customers. We want every person who comes to an MTS salon, calls our call center, or uses the company’s services to enjoy being an MTS client. Thanks to reliable communications, MTS provides customers with the opportunity to build and improve their lives and constantly develop. All MTS resources are aimed at ensuring that, thanks to the company’s services, the lives of MTS clients become more eventful, interesting and filled with new opportunities.
The mission of the Russian Railways (RZD) company is to satisfy market demand for transportation, increase operational efficiency, quality of services and deep integration into the Euro-Asian transport system.Russian Railways brand mission:We are a critical part of the global system of movement of people, goods and technology. We work for clients, contribute to the unification of peoples, and integrate Russia into a single economic space. Our solutions are based on a unique infrastructure, the skill of a team of high-level professionals and innovative technologies.
Mission of the Aeroflot Group: We work so that our clients can quickly and comfortably travel vast distances, which means they can be mobile, meet more often, and work successfullyand see the world in all its diversity. Vision: Our goal is to remain the undisputed leader in domestic and international air transportation in Russia and to be inamong the best airlines in the world, combining dynamic development and high reliability with quality service.
- Nike's mission: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” (“If you have a body, you are an athlete,” said the legendary track coach at the University of Oregon, and one of the founders of Nike, Bill Bowerman)
- Mission: “Sakhalin Energy strives to be a leading producer of energy resources on the global market. We build our activities on the basis of efficient, reliable and safe production, and a responsible attitude towards social and environmental issues.”Vision: "To be the leading energy source for the Asia-Pacific region."
- AQUAART GROUP Mission: We create new value in the lives of people around the world. We believe that only at home can we get that supply of positive emotions that fill our lives with meaning. That's why we chose home improvement as our field of activity.
- Wrigley Company Mission and Vision: Wrigley. Creating simple pleasures to .Our Purpose: Wrigley is a company without borders. Because this is how we see the world. Whether it's chewing gum that keeps your mouth healthy, fresh and clean, or a handful of our candies that brings a smile to your face, we strive to bring goodness to people through our products, and never lose that.Our creativity keeps us moving forward, to new places, with new products, for new occasions, in new ways, so that the world can enjoy Wrigley.Whenever you want to make your day a little more delicious and add a touch of freshness, we are always at your fingertips, but the choice is always on your side.
- Rostelecom's mission: More opportunities for everyone. Rostelecom creates more opportunities for people - both through its services and through the implementation of projects and initiatives that address topics important to society. Telecommunications have the ability to change and improve people's lives, and this is what Rostelecom strives for in its relations with everyone who comes into contact with the activities of our company.
- Benetton's mission and vision. Benetton Group is focused on the future. Her story is built on innovation and seeing what others don't see. The Benetton Group has always been a leader and at the forefront: with flowers, with a revolutionary approach to sales, with an absolutely unique production and sales network and with a universal form of communication that is created as a social phenomenon and as a cultural debate. The Benetton Group's mission has been global since before the advent of globalization, but the company has always followed its own path.From the very beginning, Benetton envisioned fashion for a global community where young people of every race live. Benetton is moving in its development at high speed, overcoming geographical, political and any ideological boundaries.Benetton is a responsible Group, sensitive to the needs and challenges of our time, attentive to the environment, human dignity and the transformation of society. Benetton is committed to growth, not as an end in itself, but as a means to promote progress.
- Yota's mission: to be a leading developer and supplier of innovative mobile services that will change, at least one iota, people's perceptions and experiences in the field of communication, entertainment and information consumption.
- Mission of the Svyaznoy company: We work with people and for people. We create an exciting world of mobile communications and new offers that are understandable and accessible to everyone. We provide simplicity, convenience and attractive choice.
- Canon's mission is to help people realize the full potential of images (Power of Image). The European brand slogan "You Can" was launched in 2002 and aims to inspire customers to realize the potential of images.
- Gillette Mission: Gillette has been the heart of men's shaving for over 100 years. Every day, more than 800 million people around the world trust their faces and skin to Gillette's innovative razors and shaving products. We are committed to providing people with the best personal care products, including deodorants and body washes. All of them are designed to meet people's unique needs, helping them look great, feel good and perform at their best every day.
Mission of the Holding Company "Constellation Aquarius":
We see our mission in achieving the best results for shareholders, clients and employees of the Company. Our efforts and our successes are aimed at creating a healthy, strong and prosperous state and society as a whole. We strive to be the best, which means: employees are proud of their achievements, we are preferred by clients and authorities, we are respected by competitors, we are respected in society. We define the following goals for the Holding Company: stable long-term profit generation from management of shareholders’ assets, creation of new types of business,
asset restructuring. Our approach to business is based on: using the most effective methods of managing business processes, creating a favorable, comfortable atmosphere for employees to work, allowing them to form a corporate culture and cultivate team spirit. To assess business performance we are looking at: increasing shareholder returns, increasing financial efficiency, increasing competitive advantages,
favorable public opinion, a dedicated team of like-minded people. (From this example it is clear that the mission should contain not only a slogan, but also a decoding of what the company understands by it, namely its success criteria, its goals, approach to business, performance assessment and much more! For publication in open sources usually use a short version of the mission, and a more detailed one with specific numbers and plans is used to implement strategic management within the organization).
»: We contribute to the development of companies that create the Future!
What should be the company's mission? If you can guess from the wording of the Mission what company we are talking about, then this Mission already deserves attention! When a Mission Statement is vague or does not reflect the company's deepest intentions, it often appears too general. In this case, you can put any company name in a similar formulation, and such a Mission will look exactly the same. Avoid standard clichés, and hackneyed phrases, and too abstract descriptions of the reason for the existence of your organization.
The article is a detailed step-by-step guide to analyzing, developing and formulating an effective mission and goals of an organization. Our guide will help you analyze the existing mission of the organization, quickly identify key areas for its development, correctly and succinctly formulate and write a mission for any company. How to write and correctly formulate the mission of the company? Follow our instructions and the mission development process will not take much time. At the end of the article, you can download a ready-made template that will help in defining the mission and goals of your organization.
Preliminary stage: analysis of the existing mission
Before you begin developing a strategic vision and business values, conduct an analysis of the company's existing mission. To do this, take your current mission statement and evaluate it against the following criteria:
- Answers the question: How does a company's product improve the life of a customer or client?
- The mission of the organization is based on the distinctive characteristics of the product
- Includes product strengths
- The mission statement is understood unambiguously, and any employee, as well as ordinary consumers, can convey the mission statement in their own words without distorting the meaning.
- Easy to remember
- Corresponds to the actual characteristics of the product
- Built on benefits that are important to the consumer
If you answered “no” to one or more of the criteria, then you need to take a few minutes to update your current mission or create a new strategic vision for the organization.
Step One: Answer Five Questions
Forming the right mission begins with answering the following 5 questions:
- What does our company do, what do we sell? (business market)
- For whom does our company exist?()
- The key ones we are aiming to solve?
- What determines our success or what will make us successful in the future?
- How do we achieve this success?
Write down detailed answers to each question, do not be afraid of unnecessary words. Then, look at each detailed answer you wrote down and shorten it to just the key words.
Step Two: Generalization
Summarize the resulting answers into 1-2 sentences: underline the necessary words and put them separately; combine synonyms and words with similar meaning; Make up a whole sentence or several phrases from the remaining words.
A good example
The following example shows the described process of analyzing and developing a company mission:
| Question | Answer |
| What does our company do, what do we sell? | We sell children's products |
| Who is our company for? | For parents with children aged 0-7 years |
| Key consumer needs we are trying to solve? | Make your child’s life more comfortable, quickly solve emerging problems or needs of a growing baby, ensure the proper development of the child |
| What determines our success or what will make us successful in the future? | We show a high level of care and attention to each customer |
| How do we achieve this success? | We have the largest assortment. We sell only high-quality proven brands. Products with a wide range of prices. Always new collections and interesting new products on the market. Qualified personnel |
Formulation of the final mission after all transformations
To provide every mother with the widest access to modern children's products in order to make the life of every baby more diverse and provide an opportunity for early development.
Ready solutions
Use the sample to develop the mission of your organization or product
There are many interpretations of the concept corporate mission– the meaning of existence, the main goal of activity; some higher purpose; expression of the social significance of the activity; the role the company intends to play in the market; high-quality content of the business, an attempt by a businessman to find the meaning of his professional activity; justification of the organization's non-financial goals.
We dare to add our own definition of mission to this collection.
- Mission (organization, project, institution etc.) - an expression of one’s ability and intentions to satisfy or create socially significant and ethically acceptable needs (demands) of humanity, groups of people (territories, states, peoples, communities, enterprises) and individuals.
And if we get rid of unnecessary complexity, let's say it even simpler:
- COMPANY MISSION is the social benefit that the company intends to bring (or is already bringing) to others.
CORPORATE MISSION GOALS
The mission shows how the company’s products (goods, services, relationships) form and enhance qualitative changes in the everyday life of the consumer and in the worldview of society.That is, the mission should be directed outward, toward society, outside the company, and not toward the company and its stakeholders. This is precisely the main criterion when understanding whether the mission is before your eyes or an attempt to justify the purely material interests of the business. A striking negative example of this is the mission of today's Russian banks and insurance companies, most of which have simply forgotten about the interests of the client.
The objectives of the mission of modern Russian business acceptable to society may be:
- the formation of a new quality of life that summarizes the consumer properties of the company’s products;
- the desire to improve the already formed quality of life and expand its distribution;
- creating values of a higher level of significance for society than the resources expended;
- qualitative changes in the company itself, as a result of the emergence and mobilization of additional resources and a new attitude towards the world;
- increased adaptation of the company to market requirements and its integration into the global community.
There are many opinions about what the content of an organization's mission should be.
The so-called four-pronged approach involves taking into account the following aspects in the mission statement:
- market (products, strategies, competition, enterprise goals, markets),
- social (taking into account the interests of business participants, social groups, mentions of corporate philosophy, culture),
- private (business success from the point of view of the personal interests of the owners),
- qualitative (the desire of business to change the conditions, quality of life of society, properties of the social environment).
Another approach advises taking into account the main strategic goals facing any company in any market, and voicing business priorities regarding each of them:
- public (contribution to the local community, solving specific public problems),
- consumer (satisfying customer requests, taking into account the needs of suppliers and partners),
- administrative-territorial (satisfying the requests of a specific system within the structure of which the company operates),
- entrepreneurial (satisfying the needs of participants and co-owners).
And, for example, on the website of one domestic state university it is stated that “The content of the organization’s mission is:
1) philosophy (basic views, principles and values, system of motives);
2) description of the scope of activity, product of the organization;
3) goals of the organization (current and strategic);
4) characteristics of potential and technologies;
5) description of the internal concept, strengths of the organization, its competitive advantages, development prospects;
6) characteristics of the market where the organization operates;
7) description of the external image (image) of the organization."
So it’s not clear whether to believe this or smile.
It is up to you to decide which method your company will use to formulate its business mission. Let us add: contrary to some authors, we do not believe that the “Company Mission” is a document “the provisions of which must be followed.” You need to know the mission of the company, it is advisable to share it, be guided by it, follow it, but fulfill its provisions..? It is difficult to agree that a mission is “a corporate ideology, the values of which the company’s employees correspond to, and the philosophy of which is reflected in their work” (the quote is real). A mission is just a mission.
A well-formulated mission of the organization does not require additional explanations or additions, and does not contain any nested, expanding interpretations or provisions. It is a full-fledged, independent document, logically included in a set of documents under the general name “Company Ideology”.
MISSION DEVELOPMENT
Of course, it is hardly possible to “develop” a mission. Realize, formulate - yes. We agree that every legal entity has a purpose (mission, meaning of existence), regardless of its awareness. The process of realizing the mission can occur gradually, or maybe explosively - with insight.In the context of small and medium-sized businesses, the mission of the organization almost always contains the energy and philosophy of the owners and founders. Without their participation, a full-blooded mission rarely appears.
There are many approaches to developing a mission.
MISSION DESCRIPTION REQUIREMENTS
- The mission of the enterprise really answers many questions (why? who? what? how? why? by what means? in the name of what?), but does it as succinctly, simply and concisely as possible.
- The mission statement should exclude the possibility of discrepancies, but at the same time leave room for creative and flexible development of the company.
- Mission drafts can be of any size. The final text is 1-2-3 sentences. Such a brief mission of the enterprise is especially well understood, remembered and easily retold. However, if you like to see smiles on the faces of your customers, you can write your corporate mission on the page.
- The simplicity of the mission lies in the logic of presentation. Do not make a verbal mess out of the text of the enterprise’s mission, do not introduce into the mission statement elements of vision, strategic goals, a detailed description of services, philosophy, descriptions of areas of responsibility - all those provisions whose place is separate, independent text documents.
- The “Company Mission” document should not begin with the words “The company’s philosophy is to ensure consistency between its own goals and the long-term interests of society.” Why mix everything together? The mission text is not the place for the concepts of “vision”, “goals”, “objectives”, “values”, “policies”, “principles”, “philosophy”, “strategy”. For them - other documents.
- From the text of the mission it should be clear without prompting what the business is doing (industry, direction of development, type of services) and why it is doing it.
- Don't be afraid of beautiful text as long as it conveys the mission concepts correctly. Use rare, colorful words and phrases, but avoid random unpleasant associations.
- Shorten the distance, get closer to the consumer. Just call the company "We".
- Do not mention material gain in the mission (exception - financial market players, banks). The money you make is not what your business will be famous for for centuries.
- Avoid the dominance of obscure terms, such words and phrases worn out to the point of meaninglessness, such as “customer focus”, “social partnership”, “maximum benefits at the minimum price”, “mutually beneficial cooperation”, “business development and improvement”, “we value our clients”. Don't make your competitors laugh with such platitudes.
- Make the mission statement active rather than passively observant. The best verb for a business mission is in the present tense.
- It doesn’t matter that many corporate mission statements begin similarly: we do..., we teach..., we improve..., we care..., we help..., we solve..., we develop..., we provide..., we improve..., we we contribute.., we provide.., we feed.., we give.., we serve. The main difference is in the sense of the words that follow.
- The company's mission statement should not be fabulous, inflated, unrealistic, wretched, clumsy, forced, so as not to generate a smile and doubts about the sanity of its authors. Nothing is better than a funny mission.
- A competent mission text is like blank verse: full of meaning, elegant and laconic. Misprints, typos and missing punctuation marks in the organization’s replicated mission are an indicator of its careless attitude towards its own business and a severe blow to its image. Editing the mission text is mandatory.
FORMULATE A MISSION company you can independently or with the help of bureau specialists PUNCTUATION MARKS.EXAMPLES OF MISSIONS OF RUSSIAN COMPANIES,
formulated, from our point of view, very briefly, weightily and meaningfully.Gazprom's mission– the most efficient and balanced gas supply to Russian consumers, the implementation of long-term gas export contracts with a high degree of reliability.
Transport company mission Aeroflot is the most complete and safe provision of one of the fundamental human freedoms - freedom of movement.
Mission of the group of companies GAS. To produce commercial vehicles that guarantee the customer benefits from the purchase through uncompromising quality and reliable, impeccable service, ensured by the highest competence of personnel, partner suppliers, innovations in production and products.
Brewing company mission Baltika. We create a high-quality product that gives people the joy of communication, makes their lives brighter and more interesting.
MegaFon Mission. MegaFon will unite Russia by breaking down barriers and developing communications to become everyone's obvious choice.
Bank mission(Rosselkhozbank). Ensuring accessible, high-quality and effective satisfaction of the needs of agricultural producers and the rural population of the Russian Federation for banking products and services, full assistance in the formation and functioning of a modern national credit and financial system of the agro-industrial sector of Russia, supporting the development of the agro-industrial complex and rural areas of the Russian Federation.
Russian Mission Insurance company– provide comprehensive protection, confidence and harmony in life for those who strive for the best!
Mission of beauty salons and stylish clothes ELITE: We decorate people's lives, make important events in their lives more vivid and memorable, providing beautiful outfits for any holidays, celebrations and ceremonies, quality services for creating an image and style. Feedback on creating a mission
Agency mission ROPECHAT – to be a link between publishers and readers.
Restaurant mission Indian cuisine Orissa: combine Indian cuisine - one of the most delicious and ancient - with European culture of service against the backdrop of interiors in the style of oriental palaces and baroque.
Insurance company mission MOSKOVIA - to promote the growth of insurance protection for every citizen of Russia, actively support insurance protection of domestic business, ensure the growth of the national economy, promote socio-economic development, ensure reliability, high quality of services, and help strengthen the country's financial system.
Hotel mission PUNCTION SIGNS (working version) – to provide high-quality, modern, comfortable accommodation that will help city guests better appreciate the beauty, cultural and business activity of St. Petersburg.
Construction company mission METALLINE: We are building modern residential and office buildings in Yekaterinburg - creating comfortable living and business conditions, thereby ensuring the economic development of the region, the company and the well-being of its employees.
Stores mission Castorama is to help buyers make their homes more perfect and comfortable, transform the labor-intensive and costly process of repair and arrangement into an interesting hobby that is accessible to everyone.
Stores mission TERVOLINA: High-quality, comfortable shoes and excellent service - for every customer!
Travel agency mission SOLAR SAIL – development of water tourism in the North-West region of Russia.
Mission automotive plant URAL – meeting the needs of society for vehicles with a gross weight of 12 to 44 tons and creating conditions for maintaining the performance of vehicles during operation.
Mission plant container products – to provide industrial enterprises in Russia and the CIS countries with modern packaging solutions, thereby contributing to their economic growth, as well as the development of the industrial packaging industry as a whole.
Mission educational institutions(KROKHA kindergarten) – creating conditions that reveal the child’s individuality and contribute to the formation of competencies that will ensure his success today and in the future.
Company's mission– a statement that reveals the meaning of the organization’s existence, in which the difference between this organization and similar ones is manifested. Mission is also called the main overall goal of an organization.
It should be noted that the mission is perhaps the most permanent part of the strategic plan. A company’s tree of goals and strategies may change, and even more so, the company’s strategic objectives. The mission, as a rule, remains constant. It can, of course, gradually take on an increasingly capacious and meaningful form, but in essence it can only change when significant changes in the company occur, for example, the opening of a fundamentally new line of activity for the company.
Although even such an event may not be the reason for a change in mission. For example, if we are talking about a diversified holding, for which the emergence of a new subsidiary with another line of activity is a “habitual” thing.
Often the mission is perceived as some kind of attribute that simply has to be, and everyone in the company actually treats this quite formally. Some companies believe, on the contrary, that they need several years to come up with the best version of their mission.
But in practice, it is better not to rush to either extreme, but to make a complete version of the strategic plan with all its main elements. Yes, the mission may still be imperfect, but it’s not so scary. As they say, practice will correct and polish everything, but for this to happen, the mission must be put into action.
Therefore, we can conclude that there must still be a mission, and move further according to the scheme (see. Rice. 1). after it has been formulated.
When a strategic session was held at one company to develop a strategy, the CEO said: “Until we decide on the mission, there is no point in moving forward.” Although most managers expressed the opinion that the mission could be drawn up later somehow.
However, the CEO suggested first refining the mission and only then moving forward with the scheme. Since this session was still mainly a training session (a high-quality strategy cannot be developed in two days during a corporate workshop on strategic management), we nevertheless continued to move on to demonstrate how all this should happen. At the end of such a session, we received the first (draft) version of the strategic plan, including the mission, which was then finalized over the course of a month and a half.
At one of my open seminars on strategic management, a situation arose when one of the participants, on the contrary, suggested that the mission should be considered at the very end of the proposed chain of developing a strategic plan (see. Rice. 1). Just for fun, we even held a vote to determine what the majority of the seminar participants thought about this.
The majority voted not to deviate from the proposed scheme. In fact, when a company develops a strategic plan, it has to go through the entire chain from mission to strategic objectives at least twice. And sometimes we often have to return to strategic analysis. This should be treated quite normally. No one has ever been able to immediately develop a comprehensive strategic plan. Moreover, this can be repeated at each strategic planning cycle.
You need to clearly understand what the company’s mission is practically for.
The purpose of the mission is as follows:
- making strategic decisions;
- conflict resolution;
- building a staff motivation system;
- clients;
- suppliers;
- investors;
- partners;
- labor market.
Of course, every company needs to learn how to use the mission in these listed areas. It is clear that it is not so easy to get used to “looking back” at the mission every time when making decisions that, for example, are related to resolving conflicts in the company or with external contractors. But still, you need to gradually accustom yourself, when making decisions, to evaluate how much their implementation will bring the company closer to achieving its most important goal - its mission.
At the same time, sometimes you have to accept a small and temporary decrease in financial results, which, of course, is very difficult to decide on. In addition, if the company's motivation system is aimed mainly at achieving short-term benefits, then this situation only exacerbates the difficulty of using the mission in the daily work of managers. Here, by the way, you need to again pay attention to the fact that the motivation system itself should be developed taking into account the company’s mission.
There are certain requirements for what a company's mission should include.
The content of the organization's mission should include:
- products of the organization;
- organization markets;
- resources used;
It turns out that the mission should include so much, but at the same time remain quite brief. This is precisely one of the difficulties when creating a mission. It is very difficult to formulate a mission in such a way that it reflects the desired essence and at the same time is brief enough for better perception.
On the one hand, there are requirements for the content of the mission, and on the other hand, there are rules for formulating the mission, so the company must adhere to the following requirements for the mission statement.
The organization's mission should:
In practice, a mission statement may consist of one or more statements.
Mission of a large energy company
“We produce and deliver energy and services to the market in the best possible way, reliably and profitably, today and always, multiplying and fully exploiting the accumulated potential for the benefit of society and shareholders.”
This is a fairly large energy company that has three main shareholders (including the state). The mission statement clearly identifies the product that the company produces and sells. Also presented are the qualitative characteristics of the sales process itself (in the best possible way, reliably and profitably, today and always). And, of course, the mission identifies the main entities for whose benefit the company operates (for the benefit of society and shareholders).
A mission, in principle, can consist of several basic statements.
The mission of a small company producing soy products:
Of course, this option is not entirely good, because... the mission turns out to be too cumbersome, but on the other hand, it contains all the necessary components. This once again suggests that formulating a mission is a rather complex task, and it cannot be solved so easily. This small company producing soy products truly has fans of their business.
There, even the general director was so passionate about production and technological processes that, at times, he himself took an active part in them. That is, the company’s employees not only proclaimed the ideas of healthy eating, but were themselves adherents of this approach. When we conducted corporate training in this company, during breaks we were constantly treated to a wide variety of soy products and were told in great detail about all the features of production and the quality properties of the products.
When formulating a mission, you can do the following. Formulate several mission options for all main stakeholders: consumers, shareholders and company employees.
Example of a group of companies' mission
External mission (to consumers)– professional satisfaction of the needs of a wide range of Russian and foreign clients (wholesale, retail) with quality goods and services at affordable prices.
Internal mission (for shareholders)– creation of an effective mechanism for corporate and financial management of a group of companies through their integration into a diversified holding to ensure sustainable business development and profit generation.
– increasing the efficiency of employees through more specific task setting and distribution of responsibilities. Implementation of a system of motivation and incentives for employees depending on the completion of the tasks assigned to them and the results of the company’s work. Formation of corporate culture.
This is an example of a mission for a diversified holding company. The holding did not have any restrictions on areas of activity. The holding had a management company, and it was believed that a project in any industry could be potentially profitable. That is, if an opportunity for development arose either through the acquisition of a ready-made enterprise, or through the creation of a business from scratch in a new line of activity for the holding, this business project was analyzed and, if the decision was positive, it began to be implemented.
Therefore, the mission regarding products and services stated that the most important thing is to provide quality at affordable prices. For shareholders, a guarantee of success should have been provided by an effective mechanism for managing existing businesses and creating new businesses. For the company's employees there is a clear statement of the task and a motivation system tied to results.
An example of a computer holding mission
External mission (to the consumer)
Professional satisfaction of the needs of a wide range of Russian clients: wholesale, retail, corporate in computer and telecommunications equipment; servicing old customers is a priority.
Internal mission (to shareholders)
Creation of effective internal mechanisms for survival in the information technology market through the integration into a diversified holding of the accumulated potential in the IT market, financial management and management, more effective and faster to customize than competitors.
Internal mission (to employees)
Improving employee performance through more specific task setting and distribution of responsibilities. Clear priorities in employee tasks. Rewarding an employee solely depending on the completion of his main task and on the overall financial result of the company. Possibility to work outside the office. Attracting temporary and part-time employees. Flexibility of personnel policy. Priority in employment of permanent company employees.
The company plans to develop both in the wholesale and retail markets, as well as in the corporate market of computer and telecommunications equipment. At the same time, the mission states that the main emphasis in the corporate client market will be on creating a permanent client base. Again, as in the previous example, shareholders are guaranteed effective business management. Moreover, the mission uses the term “survival”. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the mission was developed after the crisis. Company employees should be given clear tasks, priorities in their work should be determined, and incentives should depend on the results achieved.
It is clear that the last two mission examples are more cumbersome. But if it is convenient and more understandable for the company, then it should be done. Although some experts believe that such a split or even a breakdown of the mission should not be allowed, and the mission, first of all, should be addressed to the external environment of the company, and the presence of several mission options indicates a formal attitude towards it. I do not insist on any one option. The main thing is that the mission really fulfills its function, and in what form it will be present is a second question. A very important point in the practical implementation of the mission is a well-thought-out policy for its promotion in the company. This is a kind of internal PR.
Mission Advancement– is to ensure the same understanding of the mission by all employees of the enterprise, so that each employee can determine his place in the organization and actively participate in achieving the goals.
Quite often, to promote the mission, events are used that will be implemented in the company anyway. We are talking about hiring new employees and certifications. In one company, the director introduced a procedure for regular certification of his employees. Moreover, one of the exam questions was knowledge of the mission. The company had its own transport department (about 15 cars). Even drivers were tested. So in this company, the drivers constantly complained and said that they were forced to do nonsense and learn all sorts of incomprehensible slogans. At the same time, employees could be deprived of bonuses for ignorance of the company’s mission.
Promoting a mission in a company is actually a very complex task, and it, of course, does not come down to performing some mechanical actions, the implementation of which will certainly ensure the desired result. One of the most important factors for the success of a mission must be remembered: first of all, it must be understood and believed in by the company’s owners and the CEO. If this does not happen, then you can make as many plans as you like to promote the mission in the company; without fulfilling these conditions, all the work will be done in vain. After all, it is very difficult to get someone else to believe in what you yourself do not believe.
That is, the plan for implementing the mission in the company must be deliberate; there is no need to rush. Once, while carrying out a project to establish strategic management in one company, I observed such a situation. At a corporate seminar, the first version of the strategic plan was developed, including a mission. It was clear that this was just a draft that still needed to be finalized.
The purpose of this two-day corporate seminar was not to obtain a ready-made strategic plan. At the seminar, we were supposed to teach strategic planning techniques and try to immediately apply them to the company. This approach significantly increases the effectiveness of training. But this does not mean that you can develop a strategy in two days.
At the same seminar, they also talked about the importance of promoting the mission in the company. Literally twenty minutes after the seminar, employees of this company were already climbing on the walls to hang posters with the mission. On the one hand, such a desire to quickly apply the acquired knowledge is commendable, but, on the other hand, as already noted, the version of the mission received at the seminar still needed to be finalized. Therefore, I had to restrain the ardor of the top managers of this company a little. During the course of the project, the mission version was redone several times. It would not be entirely logical to climb the wall with a new poster after each such time.
Note: the topic of this article is discussed in more detail at the workshop
The question of developing a company Mission is increasingly encountered among Russian enterprises. Owners and managers are beginning to realize that “hard” management tools - KPI and budgeting, working time tracking and reporting control, profiling positions and assessing their presence on a lie detector test and through numerous tests, etc., etc. - do not allow fully create a company of like-minded people with a strong corporate culture. People, if they do not share your values, will always find loopholes to bypass all the fences and bells and whistles of your smart management system.
Only engaged and committed employees are ready to work to the maximum of their capabilities without external additional incentives and restrictions.
The mission and Values of the company are just the tool that allows you to identify “your people” at the start, and to stick to the right course in your work without expensive systems of carrots and sticks.
Below I offer a list of 50 missions of well-known companies, on the basis of which you can formulate your own.
(!!!) Warning: IT IS HARMFUL TO DEVELOP A MISSION WITHOUT COMPANY EMPLOYEES
so, let's go!
Google: “Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Facebook: “Empowering people to connect and making the world a more open and connected place.”
Kodak: "We help the world create memories and make money."
Yandex: “Helping people solve problems and achieve their goals in life.”
Disneyland: “We work to ensure that adults and children spend more time together.”
Castorama: “We help buyers make their homes more perfect and comfortable, transform the labor-intensive and costly process of repair and improvement into an interesting hobby that is accessible to everyone.”
The Ritz-Carlton: "Unrelenting care and providing the utmost comfort to every guest."
Mary Kay: “To enrich the lives of women around the world by offering customers quality products, opening new horizons for independent beauty consultants and providing them with unlimited career opportunities, ensuring that the women who encounter Mary Kay can realize their true potential.”
IKEA: “To make a difference in the everyday lives of ordinary people.”
XEROX: "Sharing knowledge through documents."
The Bank of New York: “We strive to be recognized as a global leader and partner of choice in helping our clients succeed in a world of rapidly evolving financial markets.”
Harley-Davidson: "We make people's dreams come true by leveraging our expertise in building the very best motorcycles."
Apple: “Apple makes Macs the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple continues the digital music revolution with its iPod and iTunes. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad."
Zappos: “Provide the best customer service possible.”
Amazon: To be “the most customer-conscious company on Earth.”
Samsung: “We use the company's human and technological resources to create superior products and services, thereby contributing to the improvement of global society.”
Twitter: “Empowering everyone to share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.”
Sberbank: “We give people confidence and reliability, we make their lives better by helping them realize their aspirations and dreams.”
Enter: “We give time for the present. Honestly. With love. As for myself."
Citibank: “Citi works tirelessly to benefit citizens, communities, organizations and nations. Using 200 years of global experience in solving complex problems and realizing existing opportunities, we strive to deliver the best economic results for our clients by offering simple, creative and responsible financial solutions. We unite more than 1,000 cities, 160 countries and millions of people. We are your global bank. We are Citi."
Best Friends Animal Society: “A better world through kindness to animals.”
Tobacco Company JTI: “Our mission is to create a strong international tobacco company that operates to provide maximum benefit to its shareholders, employees, consumers and society as a whole, and strives to achieve a leading position in its industry.”
New York Public Library: "Inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities."
Walmart: "We save people money so they can live better."
McDonald's: “To be our customers' favorite place to eat and drink. And the formula for achieving this goal is one old McDonald’s formula: KKCH and D, which means Quality, Service Culture, Cleanliness and Availability.”
BMW: “The BMW Group is the world's leading supplier of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.”
Valio: “To feel good.”
Lukoil: “We were created to use the energy of natural resources for the benefit of people.”
Polaroid: "Advancing the instant photography and digital market to meet people's growing need to capture the faces of friends and family, places dear to their hearts, and life's funny moments."
Daria: “To free up consumers’ time for a full life by producing high-quality, easy-to-cook products.”
Levi-Strauss: “We will bring to market the most beautiful and popular casual clothing in the world. We will dress the whole world."
Toyota: “To give our customers the pleasure of high-quality Toyota vehicles. We are responsible for every car we sell. We create an atmosphere in which Toyota professionals use their many years of experience, as well as knowledge of advanced Toyota technologies, to meet the interests of our discerning customers. The Company’s mission is to maximize customer satisfaction by providing reliable and safe TOYOTA products and providing a network of high-quality service and qualified maintenance.”
Gazprom: OJSC Gazprom Gazenergoset, as a specialized operator of OJSC Gazprom, sees its mission as ensuring effective uninterrupted supplies to consumers of products from gas and oil refining enterprises of the Gazprom group, while maintaining a high level of safety and consistently developing activities related to the sale and use of these products.
Sportsmaster: “We make sports accessible! To develop a successful and efficient business, offering Clients an optimal range of quality goods for sports and active recreation with an optimal level of service. To promote the health of the population in the countries where we operate, promoting the values of a healthy lifestyle, sports and active recreation, improving the quality of life of our clients.”
ChTPZ-KTS: “Comprehensive satisfaction of the needs of builders and operators of main and process pipelines in connecting parts, pipeline fittings, process equipment and other components.”
Adidas: “Our mission is to be a leader among the world's sports brands. We achieve leadership based on our vision - our passion for sport makes the world a better place. All our work is inspired by the passion for sport that drives us to improve ourselves and the world around us.”
Sony Corporation: “We are a group of young people who are endowed with sufficient energy for endless creative exploration.”
Unilever: “Our mission is to energize life. We meet people's daily food and hygiene needs. Our brands help you feel great, look great and enjoy life more.”
Coca-Cola is based on 3 principles, which are formed as follows: Refresh the world, body, mind and spirit; Promote optimism through our drinks and our deeds; Bring meaning to everything we do. Our vision is based on five words that reflect our values! Each of them is based on a word that, coincidentally, begins with the letter “P.” This is what the five Ps sound like: Personnel, Planet, Products, Partners, Profit!
Megafon: MegaFon will unite Russia by breaking down barriers and developing communications to become everyone's obvious choice. "MegaFon proceeds from a special attitude towards the company's social mission, which is to create conditions for people to communicate, without regard to borders and distances."
Microsoft: “At Microsoft, our mission is to help people and business organizations around the world realize their full potential. Achieving this goal requires talented, energetic, bright and creative people with the following virtues: integrity and honesty, enthusiasm, openness and respect, willingness to solve complex problems, self-criticism and responsibility.”
Youtube video hosting mission: “To provide quick and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.”
Lenovo (Lenovo): “For those who do! For those who do! (alternatively, “For those who act!”). Our vision is that Lenovo will create personal devices that inspire more people, inspired by our own culture, and through which we build a business respected around the world. This Vision guides us in achieving our mission to become one of the world's greatest technology companies. We will do this through: Personal Computing, Convergence and Culture."
MTS: “We are working to make MTS the best operator for its customers. We want every person who comes to an MTS salon, calls our call center, or uses the company’s services to enjoy being an MTS client. Thanks to reliable communications, MTS provides customers with the opportunity to build and improve their lives and constantly develop. All MTS resources are aimed at ensuring that, thanks to the company’s services, the lives of MTS clients become richer, more interesting and filled with new opportunities.”
RZD (Russian Railways) is to meet market demand for transportation, increase operational efficiency, quality of services and deep integration into the Euro-Asian transport system. Russian Railways brand mission: We are the most important part of the global system of movement of people, goods and technologies. We work for clients, contribute to the unification of peoples, and integrate Russia into a single economic space. Our solutions are based on a unique infrastructure, the skill of a team of high-level professionals and innovative technologies.
Aeroflot: “We work so that our clients can quickly and comfortably travel vast distances, which means they can be mobile, meet more often, work successfully and see the world in all its diversity. Vision: Our goal is to remain the undisputed leader in domestic and international air transportation in Russia and to be among the best airlines in the world, combining dynamic development and high reliability with quality service.”
Nike: “Bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world” (“If you have a body, then you are an athlete,” so said the legendary track coach at the University of Oregon, and one of the founders of Nike, Bill Bowerman) "
Yota: “To be a leading developer and provider of innovative mobile services that will change, at least one iota, people’s perceptions and experiences in the field of communication, entertainment and information consumption.”
Messenger: “We work with people and for people. We create an exciting world of mobile communications and new offers that are understandable and accessible to everyone. We provide simplicity, convenience and attractive choice.”
Canon is committed to helping people realize the full potential of images (Power of Image). The European brand slogan "You Can" was launched in 2002 and aims to inspire customers to realize the potential of images.
Mission development algorithm
The Mission is developed according to the following algorithm:
Formulating the meaning of the organization’s existence (for what?);
Formulating “messages” to each group of stakeholders (clients, staff, owners, partners);
Understanding the above and combining it in one to three succinct sentences, taking into account the meanings of all phrases as much as possible.
Staff Engagement
It is important not just to formulate a beautiful Mission and Values, but to do it in the management team, and then discuss it together with all employees (some companies immediately involve the entire staff in developing the Mission).
To do this you can use the following order:
Send 50 Famous Company Missions to your team for preview.
Gather for 3-4 hours and answer the questions: “what is the meaning of the company’s existence?”, “to satisfy what needs of society (target groups) was it created?”, “what do we want to convey to our clients, partners, employees, owners?” , “how do we differ from similar companies and competitors?”
Draw up the results of your brainstorming on separate A1 sheets and hang them in the meeting room. Let the team members look at the materials and think (each separately) in which phrase can combine all the accumulated meanings.
Then meet for another 3-4 hours and have everyone present their version.
Discuss (without criticism or judgment) the options and vote for the most suitable ones for your company (2-3 options).
Complete the selected options and present them to the team.
Ask employees to give feedback on your work - “to what extent does this or that option accurately reflect the essence of your company?”, “which option more accurately reflects the messages to clients, staff, partners and owners?”, “what important meanings were not reflected in the presented options? etc.
Based on employee feedback, select the final version, design it and hang it in a prominent place in the company (stand, reception, etc.), post it on the company portal, website.
Ask HR to set up selection, motivation, training and development tools in accordance with the developed Mission and Values.
Make decisions based on this Mission and Values and demand the same from your colleagues. Otherwise it's all in vain.
- Corporate culture
Keywords:
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