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Missions & Values
Core principles to get you moving in the direction you want to go!
By Shawn T. Kiley
Here we are again. We know what we want to achieve as a company, we know where we want to go.
We've got a good idea of what our sales should look like for this month. Yet it seems like everyone who makes the important decisions around here is on a different page again! This seems to happen to us at every manager's meeting. Why? We're all intelligent people here. We've all proven that we can get the job done. Why can't we simply get into alignment?
Does this sound familiar to you? Can you relate on any level at all? How many times have you come to the manager's meeting or the sales meeting, employee meeting, whatever meeting it is, loaded with great ideas, ready to launch them on your peers, your boss, your staff and what happens?
Ever get the feeling that you just spent two hours talking about a lot of nothing and you're either right back where you started before the meeting began or worse yet, maybe it feels like you went backwards a bit? How about that brilliant new sales program you spent days on and your staff just isn't "buying in?"
You could have a bad case of "Missions & Values" blues! Let's be careful not to oversimplify what can be a very complex and critical issue for many companies.
But let's be realistic. Does your company have a simple mission statement that has had at least some input from the lowest level of your organization? Does your company have a set of values by which to steer your mission? If not, you are definitely suffering from the "Missions & Values" blues.
Every organization no matter how big or small must have a simple, well thought out mission. Something that sums up the entirety of why they're in business in the first place. And here's the kicker - we need to involve as many people in our organization in the construction of this mission. If the mission becomes too broad for the entire organization, then we'll need to simplify by having a company mission and then breaking it down further into departmental missions. For instance, if you run a retail organization, you may want to first decide upon the mission of the company as a whole. Then, you may want to have each department create their own mission. The shipping and receiving department, the buying department, the accounting department - all can have their own mission as long as their mission helps to feed the company's overall vision and as long as the people who work in the department have all had a hand in helping to create the mission. This is a critical component. Because without "buy in", without involvement, there will be no commitment to carrying out the mission.
Next is to begin to draft a set of values that will help you as an organization to achieve your mission. These should be clearly defined, with no room for misunderstanding or subjectivity. Your values as a company should be an intrinsic grouping of ideals and principles from which you never stray. EVERYONE in your organization should have a say in your company's values. This should drive down to the lowest level of the organization. This can be a time consuming process, but when you have completed it, you will be amazed at how clear and simple your choices become when alignment becomes an issue in your organization. Does it fit in with our mission, with what we are trying to accomplish? Are we violating any of our values by moving in this direction? If the answers to these questions don't add up, then you are more than likely not moving in the correct direction.
Remember, a simple mission statement should be a living document. This means that it is not static, it can change and grow just as the company does. Just so long as you involve as many, if not all of the people in your organization. "But Shawn, you don't understand, we've tried this before and it just doesn't work. I've got three hundred employees and half of them don't even seem to care about something like this. It just won't work for us."
As a leader in your organization you must make it work. You must lead by example. Trying to run your company without a clear mission and set of values is like trying to find your way around Los Angeles with a map of Chicago. You've got a map all right and it's made by the premiere map making company in the world. But if your map doesn't clearly define your landscape, what good is it? Where will it get you?
Finally, when you have drafted your mission and your values and you have buy in from as many people in your company as possible, then it's time to get it up on the walls, out to the customer, signed off on by the employees and exercised day in and day out. I'm talking about a full scale marketing blitz.
If you have departmental missions be certain that you have one of your trainers teaching the mission to each new employee. Make certain they are not simply going through the motions but that they have passion about the mission. And most importantly, that they practice the values that drive the mission.
The best information that I have come across on creating a Mission Statement and Values for your company is from Stephen R. Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Please read this book if you haven't already.
By the way here is the Mission and values of Aloha Solutions:
The Mission of Aloha Solutions:
Aloha Solutions strives to help raise the bar for standards of customer service and hospitality, by providing our clients in the service industry with the best mystery shopping programs available. We believe that our clients success is our success and we maintain our commitment to excellence through an honest, integral, and professional approach to helping our partners in service achieve their maximum potential."
OUR VALUES:
Integrity - Honesty - Efficiency - Professionalism - The Spirit of Aloha
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