Why are mission statements always so lame? Why, when given a very small amount of ink to communicate something clearly, do most companies fail? This is one I saw today:
(Company X) was founded to help performance-driven companies
improve the effectiveness of their field sales and service
organisations [sic] using innovative on-demand wireless and data transaction
management technologies.
Well, I don’t get it really. Who doesn’t think they are performance-driven? Actually, I’m not even sure what that means. And is anyone really in the market for "innovative on-demand wireless and data transaction
management technologies?" I mean I get it, sort of. But it’s pure MBA-speak, and has no real meaning.
What if it said:
Company X connects salespeople to their data wirelessly so they always have the answers they need.
That I get. That I WANT! That, if I were an employee of Company X, would help me compare my daily activities to what the company wants to accomplish.
If it’s a mission – make it clear.
All mission statements sound like that because all mission statements are written by a room full of executives who will justify their next two months of salary by their contribution to the statement. And so, you end up with laughable, bloated frankensentences.