Imitating Excellence: Top Mission Statement Examples to Inspire Your Own

If you want to write a good mission statement, then you need to look through mission statement examples first. So, what makes a mission statement good? Do you need to create a packed sentence that perfectly encapsulates the purpose of your business? Do you need to think of something catchy?

A mission statement that’s considered good is one that is memorable to the people who see it. The customer or client, after reading your mission statement, should be capable of understanding what your business is all about.

If your mission statement is really good, then it might help you to win customers over from other businesses. When you’re writing your mission statement, you’ll need to incorporate into it the core values of your business. It should also reflect the personality of your business.

But how do you write a good mission statement? The mission statement examples in this guide, from businesses that are doing it right, can help you get started.

Let’s first look at what mission statements are.

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What Is a Mission Statement?

A mission statement helps define what the purpose of the business is, to people outside the business. It needs to be action-based and should illustrate how the business can best serve the customers.

Sometimes, a mission statement can be accompanied by a description of the business as well. It could also include the objectives of the business, as well as what exactly the business does.

Essentially, through your mission statement, you’re trying to answer the three questions. These are the ‘what’, the ‘why’, and the ‘who’ of the business.

For many businesses, a mission statement is a guideline that they follow when running their business. How you’re running your business should reflect in your mission statement. You should also look at your mission statement as the ultimate goal that your business is working towards.

Mission Statement Length and Other Do’s and Dont’s

Usually, a mission statement is no longer than three sentences. It should also be within a hundred words. Our mission statement examples in this article will show you that the best mission statements are no more than one line.

You should also ensure that all your employees know what the mission statement of the business is. For new hires, introduce them to the mission statement on the very first day.

You should also add your mission statement to your recruiting materials, as well as the materials used during the onboarding process. Now let’s look at how you can write your mission statement.

How Do You Write A Mission Statement?

To write your mission statement, you’ll need to take your time. You also shouldn’t confuse your mission statement with a vision statement, which is very different.

While your mission statement describes the values of your business, as well as where it is now, the vision statement details where the business wants to go.

Many business owners think that all they have to do is summarize the services their business provides, in their mission statement. This couldn’t be further from the truth. So what are the steps involved in writing your mission statement?

1. Talk To The Leaders

Ask everyone in a leadership position within your business, what they think the purpose of your business is. Here are some examples of the kinds of questions you can ask:

What challenges do you believe our business can solve?
Why do you think we are in business?
Why did you apply to work here and why did you want to work with us?
How do our products and services help us reach our business goals?
What do you think the purpose of our business is?

These are just some of the questions that you can ask. Try to talk to every single person who is in a position of leadership. But if you can’t, talk to top management and ask them these questions instead.

As you talk to more people, you should start to see patterns emerging. If you find consistent themes and patterns in the answers that you get, then you can use these to inspire your mission statement.

2. Look For Common Themes That Emerge During Your Talks

List down all the common themes that you found. At this point, write a short paragraph based on the information you’ve gathered. Remember that writing a good mission statement takes time.

This means that you’ll need to dedicate at least a few hours, if not the whole day, to identify common themes from the answers. Through your mission statement, you should be able to present with clarity, the motivation behind running your business.

After you’ve written your paragraph, it’s time to eliminate sentences that you think are unnecessary. Distill the whole paragraph into three sentences.

These three sentences should all showcase a single thought that perfectly encapsulates the theme of your business. If you do this separately for all the themes you’ve encountered through your talks, you can create several paragraphs that could serve as the foundation for your mission statement.

3. Show It To Management

Now that you have multiple options for what could go on to be your mission statement, it’s time to show it to the leaders you previously talked to. Ask them for their opinions and get their feedback. You might hear several conflicting opinions from them.

Remember, that this is simply part of the process.

It takes time to create the perfect mission statement. Once you’ve gotten management to like your mission statement, you can finally show it to your employees.

Mission Statement Examples That Deserve Applause

We’ve already looked at what a mission statement is, and we have also seen how you can create one. Now, it’s time to bring our focus back to the main point of the article – what makes a mission statement good?

By looking at businesses that are doing it right, you’ll get a better idea of what your mission statement should look like. Here are some mission statement examples to help you:

1. Tesla

“To accelerate the world’s transition into sustainable energy.”

In their mission statement, Tesla chooses to emphasize sustainable energy. They want to create an impact in not just one or a dozen countries, but rather the whole world. Tesla is known for enhancing how sustainable energy is used, so it’s not surprising for their mission statement to have this term.

The word ‘accelerate’ also reflects their industry as well.

Through their mission statement, Tesla illustrates what the core purpose of the business is. This purpose is to provide electric vehicles that use clean energy, for mass consumption.

At the same time, their mission statement also acknowledges that there is a transition happening between the use of fossil fuels, and shifting to sustainable energy sources.

They are also aware that their market is relatively young. The self-awareness that they display in this sentence makes Tesla’s mission statement one of the best.

2. LinkedIn

“To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”

The mission statement of LinkedIn is a succinct one. At the same time, it’s also very descriptive. It outlines exactly what it is that the business does – it helps connect professionals from anywhere in the world.

When it comes to good mission statement examples, you can’t look past the one from LinkedIn. This is as their mission statement captures what the purpose of LinkedIn is.

At the same time, emphasis is also placed on the people who are using the platform. LinkedIn takes a customer-centric approach when it comes to many of its design strategies.

3. TED

“Spread ideas.”

TED has a simple mission statement. It’s memorable and easy to remember. Some may find it strange that a large media organization that produces hundreds of hours worth of content, might only have two words in its mission statement.

However, this is very much in line with the kind of branding that they do.

The purpose of TED is to share ideas on the internet, for free. Their talks are also usually no longer than eighteen minutes. Their mission statement is short and to the point, much like a lot of their content.

3. PayPal

“To build the web’s most convenient, secure, cost-effective payment solution.”

The values of PayPal are focused on being a FinTech leader and democratizing various financial services for people worldwide. This can be readily seen through their mission statement.

Note the emphasis on being a solution that is ‘cost-effective’, as this is one of the main draws of the service.

PayPal combines cost-effectiveness with a robust security system and uses this to provide affordable services for everyone. Their services can help in advancing the world economy, while also ensuring that the people who use the service are protected.

4. Nike

“Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”

“If you have a body, you’re an athlete.”

Both these mission statement examples are from Nike. Both the style as well as the tone of their mission statement help make the statements more memorable.

They also make use of an asterisk in their mission statement, which is unique to their brand. It also gives the customers something to ponder on.

Their mission statement is also very inclusive. This helps them reach out to millennials as well as Gen Z.

5. Amazon

“To be Earth’s most consumer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they want to buy online.

And endeavors to offer its customers the lowest price possible.”

Amazon is one of the largest businesses in the world. Over the years, they have served millions of people. These include not just the customers but also the sellers.

Their mission statement showcases their emphasis on being consumer-centric. They prioritize good customer service and also ensure that the products on the platform are priced low.

In their mission statement, they’ve mentioned everything that makes their business special. At the same time, their mission statement also highlights how large the business is.

6. Nordstrom

“To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.”

Nordstrom has always showcased a steadfast dedication to customer service. A business that has lasted for over a hundred years, it has changed its mission statement with time.

No matter how many times their mission statement changed, one thing stayed constant. This was their focus on customer service.

They emphasize not just buying clothes, but also the quality and style of their clothes as well.

7. Workday

“To put people at the center of enterprise software.”

This is one of the more unique mission statement examples in this list. It showcases the stance that Workday has, towards enterprise software. It also shows that Workday is committed to standing out from its competitors.

Through their mission statement, they look at the HR software industry as well. They point out how even within the HR space, it’s not unusual for people to find themselves on the wayside.

Their mission statement is a confident one. It illustrates not just the state that the industry is in, but also the values of the business.

8. American Express

“We work hard every day to make American Express the world’s most respected service brand.”

American Express worked hard to differentiate itself from other vendors within the credit card space. They did this by emphasizing how good their customer service was, as well as how committed they were to their customers.

Their mission statement perfectly illustrates the values of the business. It shows that alongside the opinions of their customers, they also value the opinions of their employees.

It is through their respect for their employees and customers that they have become a well-respected and global brand.

Conclusion

These were just some of the mission statement examples that you should look at, before writing your very own mission statement. Through your mission statement, aim to showcase the values of your business.

Follow the tips in this guide to craft a memorable mission statement today. From what a mission statement is to how to write one and even mission statement examples, this guide covers everything you need to know.