How to Fend Off Mission Drift

1. Start by asking yourselves these questions:

• Why do we exist?
• What is our business?
• Who are our customers?
• What do our customers value?
• The answers will help you create laser focus on what your mission is.

2. The mission guides the company’s development over time, so it should be resistant to capriciousness. However, as the external landscape changes, leaders must tweak the mission statement as they recognize how to translate purpose into practice.

3. Write your mission statement in terms that are easy enough for everyone in the organization to articulate.

4. Know your competition. What about the competitor should you know to avoid being blindsided by their best move?

5. Once you have established your mission, a vision statement paints a clear picture of what you intend to do and what you will commit to do. This concise statement defines what success will look like in one, three, and five years, sometimes beyond that.