Can You Name These Three Things?

Company vision and long-term goals.

Company mission statement.

Company culture.

When I go in to work with a corporate team, I often ask the members if they can relay those three things to me with confidence. 

The results are all over the board. What would happen if I asked your team?

The next layer to that question is if you know the answers, is your company working toward the vision and long-term goals? Is your company in line with its mission statement? Are the values, beliefs and behaviors of your company aligning with what you say represents your company culture?

Vision and goals are self-explanatory, but what really is a mission statement?

Let’s look at the dictionary.com definition: an official document that sets out the goals, purpose, and work of an organization.

While this might sound basic and simple, it’s the foundation for everything that follows. If your mission statement is clear, the actions you take toward your purpose are clear. 

Slater Success just celebrated the start of our 15th year in business. You can hear a podcast episode on January 31st on Her Success Story, where I chat with one of my long-time team members about the journey and story of this business.

The mission statement I wrote for Slater Success when I first began this business went something like this: To coach women entrepreneurs to live a life of financial freedom and build their businesses on their own terms. 

My business has expanded to working with a wide variety of clientele. My goals, purpose and work has shifted. The business has grown. I have grown. Your mission statement will change with your growth. 

The next team meeting you have, add an agenda item to review the three items above. Ask your team if they feel the company culture is strong and engaging. Ask them if they know the mission statement of the company and if they feel that it’s accurate. Ask them if they know the goals and long-term vision of the company and if they feel like they are a contributing factor in that growth. 

In order to truly scale and grow, your foundation must be solid, your team must be on board and your leadership must drive everything with actions and support.