Mission with a Mission

Every success has a story and every story has a hero. Most of the successful organizations had a modest beginning with limited number of employees/ stakeholders and the ‘Founder’ acting as the guiding force to them. But as an organization grows and expands, the number of stakeholders increase and
more employees are hired.

So what happens when the organization grows huge and the one who is the ‘Guiding Force’ is not able to personally direct so many of them?

The organization continues to exist but will it continue to grow in the same manner as the guiding force
wants it to?
May be that is why the concept of Vision and Mission Statement came into the picture. In other words,
they serve as the Guiding Light in the moments when the path is unclear. They work as the substitute of
the original Guiding Force. The Vision and Mission Statement are the reference points in the situation of;
let’s say confusion or a deadlock. Let us now try to understand what Vision Statement and Mission
Statement really mean.

Vision: Defines the way an organization or enterprise will look in the future.
Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, succinctly describing
why it exists and what it does to achieve its Vision. The mission statement should guide the actions of
the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a sense of direction, and guide decision-making. Thus
in a way, the Mission statement becomes more important than the Vision itself.

Let’s examine, from an amateur’s point of view, the Mission Statements of some of the well known
Multinational Companies. I have chosen 6 of them:

Ford Motor Company:We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to
providing personal mobility for people around the world.
(This statement appeals to the Employees and Customers and talks about being the older player in
the global market at the time when the market is flooded with many big players. It tries to appeal on
the emotional level. Also it makes it clear that their forte is in ‘Personal Mobility’ and thus clearly
sends the message across.)

Global Gillette: We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that
improve the lives of the world's consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership
sales, profit, and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in
which we live and work to prosper.
{We might think of Gillette as a company making products for Men’s Personal Care, but the mission
statement clearly widens the scope by saying it wants to ‘improve the lives’ of the world’s
consumers and is not restricted to shaving creams and blades, as we might think. It gives a clear
indication to the Management/ Employees. It also talks about social welfare in the end. It also
appeals to the Consumers very strongly.}

Harley-Davidson, Inc: We fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to
motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and
services in selected market segments.

{It clearly mentions its core product in the statement – Motorcycles and talks about the Experience of Motorcycling, hereby appealing to the Consumers at an emotional level. It also appeals to the Employees or future management about the fact that it wants to expand the market size and expand their ‘line of motorcycles’ and also the associated Branded Products (remember the classic Harley Davidson Jacket) and Services but ‘in selected market segments’ only (Harley doesn’t come cheap baby!!)}

IBM: Operating a safe and secure government.
(Ideally a Government Serves and it takes care of its people and so does IBM. Great Impact, it
makes you think of IBM as a JUGGERNAUT! and it is. We say ‘I am an Indian/American/British’
they say ‘I am an IBMer!’.)

Microsoft: At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full
potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible.
{‘People and Businesses’ cover the entire conceivable market. ‘Realize their full potential’ is another
way of saying ‘making them 100% dependent upon us’. Windows is the leader in operating system
and software and will probably continue to remain the same in the Future. (’It is just so tough to
graduate to a Mac!!’) }

The Walt Disney Company: The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's
leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to
differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative,
innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.
{They realize by their experience, that their core competency is in ‘Entertainment’ and since they have a
strong presence in ‘Media’ – Media Networks (ABC Television Group, ESPN Inc. etc) and DIMG
(Disney Interactive Media Group) hence ‘Information’. Having ‘Entertainment’ at heart, they already have
the world best known brands and using the same, they want to create different experiences and
Products. Hence they are strongly appealing to the Employees/ Stakeholders, among others. (It is
enough to leverage what Walt Disney did in his lifetime!)}

So it seems Mission Statement itself has a goal to achieve and this goal can be anything ranging from a
strategy around a threat to addressing a challenge or to showcase the strength etc. You might think
about these/others in many ways and I am all ears.

You can send your Views, Arguments and suggestions to nitinaddress@yahoo.com.