Why 'Mission Statement' is the Missing Ingredient You Need for a Better Performance

Several studies have reported the increasing role of strategic management and its impact on organizational performance. A mission statement is considered an essential part of the strategic management process, and it is a managerial tool that can direct a company's behavior. Given that a mission statement is perceived as the starting point for shaping and directing the entire organization, it has received significant attention from academics and practitioners. However, the findings of different studies exploring this relationship are not very conclusive. Research on a sample of 394 Slovenian companies revealed that value-added per employee (VAE) is the only performance measure associated with the existence or non-existence of a mission statement.

Concerning the role of mission statement, Pearce and David (1987) stated three major roles: to establish the foundation for strategies, plans, and work activities priorities; to set the basis: for the organizational design and structure; and to justify why an organization exists. Additionally, it helps a firm distinguish itself from rivals in corporate identity, legitimacy, and direction. Several benefits of a mission statement have been reported in the related literature, including communicating a sense of the firm's direction and purpose, serving as a control mechanism to keep a firm on track, making a wide range of day-to-day decisions, and inspiring and motivate employees.

Mission statements are not necessarily essential for a company to improve performance. But several studies have shown that there are links between the two. And even though some mission statements are vague and trying too hard to cover everything, any jargon can inspire and drive followers to do better when the man behind it is a man on a mission.

Mission statements need to be clear and purposeful, but they also need to show your yearning. It needs to be unequivocal and result from the soul — the product of a passion for living, building, and creating. They're not the product of writing drills. And the mission is not reliant on their being spread to the world, because the statements are not the source of the mission. The commitment is the source of the mission, and the statements are merely the result of the commitment.

A mission statement can't create a commitment. But a commitment can't be thwarted by a lack of a mission statement. Nelson Mandela didn't have a mission statement for creating a free South Africa. But he was definitely a man on a mission.

The point is, get on a mission, and the other things will follow.

Source:

• Alawneh, A.A. (2015). The Impact of Mission Statement on Performance: An Exploratory Study in the Jordanian Banking Industry. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, Vol. 16(4), 73-87. Retrieved from https://www.digitalcommons.www.na-businesspress.com/JMPP/AlawnehAA_Web16_4_.pdf?
• Dermol, V. (2012). Relationship between Mission Statement and Company Performance. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241760723_Relationship_Between_Mission_Statement_and_Company_Performance?
• Pallota, Dan. (2011). Do You Have a Mission Statement, or Are You on a Mission? Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/01/do-you-have-a-mission-statemen?