Conan the Barbarian’s Mission Statement
I had the good fortune recently to participate in a customer service workshop, and the presenter was funny, warm and insightful. During one segment, he led us through the importance and impact of a mission statement - whether formally sanctioned or chanted underground. One of the exercises: match the organization with its mission statement. (And the presenter’s tongue-in-cheek caveat: I found these on the internet, so they must be true!)
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So we talked about the impact and guiding force of a mission statement. And the examples - true or no - gave us much to ponder. Would “Crush Reebok” lead an organization to product innovation and a dynamic relationship with its client base? Not really. “Crush Reebok” is like a sprinter racing towards the finish line... instead of passed it.
“We will crush, squash and slaughter Yamaha” - this one reminds me of another great leader of our cinematic time, Conan the Barbarian.
But, seriously, I wonder how many of us have a mission statement - whether formally sanctioned or chanted underground. How does it lead us when we awake, when the work gets difficult, when we feel we’ve failed?
So we talked about the impact and guiding force of a mission statement. And the examples - true or no - gave us much to ponder. Would “Crush Reebok” lead an organization to product innovation and a dynamic relationship with its client base? Not really. “Crush Reebok” is like a sprinter racing towards the finish line... instead of passed it.
“We will crush, squash and slaughter Yamaha” - this one reminds me of another great leader of our cinematic time, Conan the Barbarian.
But, seriously, I wonder how many of us have a mission statement - whether formally sanctioned or chanted underground. How does it lead us when we awake, when the work gets difficult, when we feel we’ve failed?
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