Company culture statements are more than just fluff, they are a guiding light. An alignment tool to attract and build trust with clients, contractors, and employees. A declaration of your standards, intentions, and expectations. These statements can even be utilized as a system of internal accountability. While your business may be small, small can be mighty!
Here’s how to leverage your mission, vision, values, and mantras to get where you want to go.
What Are Culture Statements?
If you don’t have them yet, gather your team to create your culture statements. These are your shared values, beliefs, and expectations.
Let’s dive into what makes each statement unique:
Mission: this statement should clearly outline your organizational purpose, desired outcome, and how you aim to get where you want to go. It is who you are today. Your mission should be 1 to 3 short sentences, or 1 long sentence.
For example, from Sweetgreen “To inspire healthy communities by connecting people to real food.”
Vision: this statement defines your long-term objectives. It can include your contribution to your clients, community, or the environment. It is what you achieve when you meet your mission. Your vision should be 1 short and succinct sentence.
For example, from the Alzheimer's Association “A world without Alzheimer's disease.”
Values: this statement defines the core beliefs and principles of your business. This is often a bullet point list (sometimes an acronym) with short or long descriptors of each. Shorter is easier to remember, but longer provides more detail.
For example, the acronym “FIBER=Fun, Integrity, Balance, Empowerment, Respect”
Mantras: mantras can be created quarterly or on a project-by-project basis to energize your team. These are short and positive affirmations for micro areas of opportunity. Mantras should be inspirational and can include quotes. In addition to team and companywide mantras, encourage your team to create personal mantras.
For example, “Never mistakes. Only lessons.” Or “Everything in the world was built by people no smarter than you.” Steve Jobs
How to Leverage Your Company Culture Statements?
Once you have crafted the statements above, it’s time to put them to use!
With every decision you and your team make, measure it to ensure it is in alignment with your mission, vision, and values. This one powerful change can simplify decision-making of every kind.
In most cases, if a decision is not in line with your statements you should pass on it. The exception to this rule is if it’s time to rebrand or pivot to serve a new or larger demographic. This, however, is a rarity.
Mantras can be shared in meetings, emails, and daily exchanges with your team to fire each other up—just make sure the use is relevant and sincere.
You can use your values to measure the success of your assignments and initiatives, during performance reviews, and for company-wide accountability. That includes you, so lead by example!
Conclusion
Company culture statements are often underutilized, but they provide your small business with powerful tools for success. They provide a framework and foundation you can return to keep you and your team on track, aligned, and inspired!
As always, let Tek Remedy know how we can help. This can include helping you craft and refine your mission, vision, and values as part of our business consulting services.
Keyword: company culture statements