More on writing corporate mission statements
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the translatability of corporate mission statements here. Over at Marcomments, the discussion continues with some tips about how to write a good mission statement in the first place. Corporate mission statements would be easier to translate into other languages if they followed a few of the tips in the Marcomments post:
- Look at the big picture
- Talk about what makes you unique
- Take a long-term view
- Be short and sweet
I also like the idea of involving the different stakeholders via interviews as long as it doesn’t degenerate into writing by committee. A clear, unified voice is important, and that’s hard to maintain if there are too many cooks in the kitchen.
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Writing corporate mission and vision statements is tough indeed.
All the more so right after a merger – and most mergers do not consider the parties’ cultural « fit » before the marriage! A few years ago, I worked on the cultural integration of a tripartite merger among a French, a British and a German company, each one with a rich cultural history, strong brand identity, and distinct markets and client profiles; their voices ranged from soprano to contralto.
Unfortunately, writing the mission/vision statements was by committee, with each key word having a different reach for each board member around the table. The new company has since re-branded, and though the mission statement was overhauled, it still lacks the needed punch and unified voice.
Shouldn’t writing mission statements be outsourced to a professional writer who knows the company well but has the right distance to consider the big picture without the corporate baggage?