Mission Statements Worth Stealing From
A mission statement does one job: it says what you do, every day, in service of something. Save the lofty stuff for your vision. Save the personality for your values.
A good rule: ten words or so. Although, there is a lot of flexibility here, and these days many companies are mixing vision and mission, going a little longer, and even treating mission statements more like manifestos. As long as there’s creativity, I’m happy.
Here are seven missions worth studying. Some are short. Some break the rules. These are all organizational, but personal mission statements are important, too. Read through these and formulate your own opinions. This poet shares a few of her thoughts, too.
Google "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
Eleven words. One sentence. A verb + noun that tells the what — organize + information; two adjectives that describe how—accessible, useful. Notice what's missing: search engine, ads, AI, products, technology. The mission describes the job, not the tools. That's why it has held up since 1998 even as everything Google does has changed shape. (Source: about.google/philosophy)
Patagonia "We're in business to save our home planet."
Seven words, and they updated the language from "cause no unnecessary harm" to this in 2018. The original told you what they wouldn't do; I think there’s way more power in saying what they are doing. And I love the ingenuity of “we’re in business” as the opener. Tell me you’re a B Corp without telling me you’re a B Corp. (Source: patagonia.com/ownership)
TED "Discover and spread ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding, and drive meaningful change."
Twelve words. Three verbs doing three different jobs — discover, deepen, drive — escalating from curiosity to comprehension to action. This is what a good mission can do: walk you through a process, covering the why, how, and what. (Source: ted.com/about/our-organization)
Ellevest "Our mission is to get more money in the hands of women, their families, and the next generation through personalized, intentional wealth management and financial planning."
Twenty-six words, using a traditional framework with the “through” phrase. If it helps to share your services in your mission statement, that’s one way to do it. (Source: ellevest.com)
Rent the Runway "Our mission is to power women to feel their best every day and democratize access to fashion through our signature subscription programs, à la carte rental and resale offerings.”
Longer form. The verb "power" is the move — if I had a dollar for every time I saw the word “empower” in a mission statement, I could afford a RTR subscription. So I like how they still get power in there but without the cliché. This one feels more like a blended mission-vision to me, and it uses the “through” option to list services (the how). (Source: investors.renttherunway.com)
charity: water"charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people around the world."
Seventeen words describing what they do (bringing water), the kind of water (clean and safe), and who it serves (people around the world). For a nonprofit, it makes sense that there would be a little more than the what-we-do-every-day. Mission-driven orgs lean a lot on their missions! (Source: charitywater.org)
Frittata Consulting & Coaching"We blend strategy, intuition, and leadership development to fuel sustainable growth."
Twelve words. Three things blended (the how), one outcome (the what). I built this one with intention. I wanted to include a few things as differentiators: "sustainable"—not just any kind of growth—and "intuition" sitting next to "strategy" because that combination is also what makes Frittata special. Because the mission statement is only one part of the story, a word like “sustainable” can point to a vision statement, which often unpacks the why. (Source: me)
