In order to help clients understand what a mission statement is and how to create one, CO2 Partners has put together this Mission Statement Video.
The mission statement is our statement of purpose. It describes why we exist as an organization. It tells us what we exist to do and what we will not do. It provides the organization a way to stay focused on our core competencies and prevents us for being distracted by opportunities that do not fit our purpose.
The mission serves to motivate shareholders, employees, board members, vendors, and customers. The mission also acts as a guide. The mission can give us a benchmark to be measured against when we ask if a particular function, process, or resource is being used in an appropriate way. We ask, “How does this serve our mission?” or “Is this the best way to accomplish our mission?’
Organizations and leaders sometimes confuse vision with mission. The vision tells us where we are going, and the mission says why we are going to do it. In his speech “I have a dream” speech, Martin Luther King provided a memorable vision (a “day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last!'”) and a compelling mission (to fulfill the Constitution’s promise of “guaranteeing the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for everyone and validating the essential truth that “all men are created equal”).
If you would like further assistance with writing a mission statement, please contact CO2 Partners directly.
