The most important thing owners often overlook for their organization
Companies need to set a core framework so that everyone within the organization understands the common mission and vision. This is achieved by creating mission and vision statements.
According to BusinessDictionary, a mission statement is defined as “a written declaration of an organization's core purpose and focus that normally remains unchanged over time."
They also define a vision statement as "an aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.”
Without a clear mission and vision statement, an organization is often like a rowboat in a huge ocean. The employees are paddling, and the boat is moving from its origin, but there is no consensus on what the destination is or how to get there. The employees continue to paddle, but the boat keeps circling, barely offshore from the port of departure.
The mission statement coupled with a vision statement hands everyone a GPS that not only provides directions to their intended destination, but also helps to re-route when that ship inevitably encounters choppy waters.
One of the best examples of this guiding light is provided by the Johnson & Johnson Credo. This Credo was originally written in 1943 and publicly spelled out the values that guided Johnson & Johnson in making any decision relating to either the business, the well-being of its employees or the people it serves. But the Credo is not some dusty document written more than 75 years ago, it is a living, breathing part of the organization every day. All new employees are introduced to the Credo on their first day with the company, and most employees have a copy of the document hanging in their workspace. When decisions and / or courses of action need to be determined, the Credo is there to help guide them. The Credo has served as ‘a moral compass and is considered a recipe for business success’.
So if your organization doesn’t have a strong mission and vision statement in place, now is a great time to steer the ship in the correct direction.
You can learn more about the J&J Credo at:
https://www.jnj.com/credo/