Compelling vision unites employees

There’s an image that’s regularly referenced at my work. It is a large, hollow arrow with many smaller arrows inside. The arrows all point in different directions. Some are large, some thin; others are filled in; other colors, etc. This represents a business where the direction is unclear, and everyone pursues the direction they think is important. The large arrow isn’t likely to move far with all those internal directions pressing in disparate directions. This is replaced with the same arrow, only all the smaller arrows are pointed in the same direction. This is helpful imagery of the power of a clear and inspirational mission statement.

A mission statement can’t stand by itself, but as an extension of the entrepreneur’s conviction it can align the entire business towards a common goal. The iconoclastic leader may be able to inspire his people for a time, even years, but the solidification of a mission can communicate the goal when the leader is too busy or the company is too large for him to interact with. Like the image of an arrow, a clear and inspirational mission statement points the way for everyone to move together.

It’s helpful for a company’s customers to know the mission of the company as well, mostly in service-oriented industries. When they know why a business exists and where it’s going, some of the fear that comes with partnering with them is reduced. They can predict the decisions that will be made because they know where the company wants to go, and it begins to feel more like a partnership than a dependent relationship.

My workplace (Relativity) finalized a new mission statement.

Organize data. Find the truth. Act on it.

While this is better than some iterations, I prefer an earlier mission statement, “To discover the truth and bring more justice to the world through software.” But although I’m more inspired by truth and justice, the mission we settled on is a more holistic picture of our business. We’ve also finalized a new vision statement and, while it’s long enough I can’t remember it off-hand, it encompasses much of what I love about kCura.

We haven’t needed a mission statement for most of kCura’s history because of Andrew’s iconoclastic leadership. He literally pulls us along with him. But this mission statement crystalizes where we want to go in a swiftly expanding company, and helps us all work in the same direction.

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