Mission Statement Definition

One possible mission statement definition is a written declaration of purpose affirming the highest priorities of an organization or individual. This definition doesn't tell us how to write a mission statement, only what it is.

Before I get into the discussion on mission statement definition any further, let me address a couple of points. First, for purposes of this discussion, we are concerned with personal mission statements. We are not interested in institutional mission statements, except as they can be used as examples to facilitate the creation of your personal mission statement.

Second, there seem to be two schools of thought on mission statements, and they are radically different. One school describes the mission statement definition as being very short, no more than one or two sentences. The other school says that it should be as long as is practical, in order to get your message across.

Regarding the first school, the claim by these folks is that your mission statement should be short enough so that you can memorize it, and apply it to all situations. While there might be value in that, you can certainly memorize ten sentences that have meaning for you as easily as you can memorize one.

I am also a little concerned that a one sentence declaration may be too vague. While you might be able to apply the concept of "do the right thing" in all situations, it doesn't really give you much to go on. What is "the right thing" and can I always apply that anyway? Maybe not, especially if I don't know exactly what "the right thing" is. A little more depth here would help, and one sentence can't really do that.

So, as a matter of practice, I would subscribe more to the mission statement definition set forth by the second school. This seems to be the same line of thinking adopted by Stephen R. Covey, and I think following his lead is a good idea.

After all, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has certainly inspired many people to become successful. Covey gives examples of long personal mission statements throughout his works.

In addition, some of the proponents of the short mission statement seem to imply that you can slap together some values and some verbiage and be on your way.

Covey, on the other hand, warns that it can take many rewrites, and possibly years before it is the way you want it. He also tells us that it is a work in progress that you review and fine tune periodically. As time goes on, and you refine it over many years, your mission statement may be reduced in size.

I am slowly changing my mind on the length aspect to allow for shorter wording. By nature, it will be more vague. But, I believe if you start out with a longer one and cut it down, that can be a positive experience.

In addition, there's a two word mission statement shown as an example in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens that reads: "Nothing less." That book was written by Stephen Covey's son Sean, so truly, anything goes as long as it works for you.

Some of the information on mission statements revolves around either job seekers, or career minded people looking to fine tune their mission statement with jobs or careers in mind. While this is not a bad idea, I am more concerned with an all encompassing mission statement.

You are not your career, and you are certainly not your job. To create a mission statement that is based solely around your working life is to limit yourself. Why? Well, while you may carry similar skills and traits from one career to the next, it would be a mistake to focus your mission statement on what you need in order to be a good plumber, only to become a dentist later on.

That's an extreme example, but I believe that a career focused mission statement should be done separately from your "life purpose proclamation." Or, you could include career-based information as a small part of your mission.

Writing a personal mission statement is the end result of pulling together your vision for your life, your values, your goals, your dreams, and defining the person you want to be. This is no small task!

To get a real feel for a definition of a mission statement , I suggest that you review as many examples of personal mission statements as possible.

I embrace the idea that you can put your mission statement in terms that you can understand, using the kind of language that works for you. I like that it can be as long or as short as you want, and that you can rewrite it as many times as you need to in order to get it right, or adjust for changes in your life.

After all, it's your mission statement, so you should be able to choose the how it looks. Regardless of what others may label a mission statement definition, your personal mission statement needs to be the right tool for your life, created in the way you want.

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