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The Three Parts of Mission: Message, Method and Motive

Mission is not to be confused with Vision. Vision is the destination. Mission is the direction. Vision is the lighthouse. Mission is the compass – it keeps you on course. In other words, mission is the focus and force behind the day in and day out operations of your company.

There are Three Distinct Parts that make up the Mission of a Company:

Message
This is the daily promise made to the company’s constituencies, including leadership, management, staff, vendors and customers. A couple of great mission statements come to mind:

“To make people happy.” ~ Disney

“To solve unsolved problems innovatively.” ~ 3M

The Message defines a benchmark for decisions: “Is this going to make people happy?” If so, the decision is easy.

Method
This is how you make people happy. It is how you solve the unsolved problems innovatively. It is the process that your company uses that makes you better than your competition. Your approach to business and the manner of execution is a significant contribution to your corporate culture. A McDonald’s Big Mac tastes the same in Hong Kong as it does in Hoboken, New Jersey. Why? Their method of operating involves three key missions: consistency, cleanliness and quality.

Motive
While I know the bottom line is important, if money becomes the primary motive of the company, it could mean its early loss of market share. The moral of the famous movie The Miracle on 32^nd Street was to “satisfy and meet the need of the customer, even if it meant you lost the sale”. In the film, this strategy worked for Macy’s. Today, this same strategy will serve any company well.

Remember, Mission like Vision, needs to be communicated often to be effective.

We help companies create clear mission statements and plans. We’re External Resources, a company that delivers interim and permanent executives who specialize in leadership and strategy, finance and human resources, sales and marketing, and informational technology for commerce and government.

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