The best communication is communication that is from the heart, whether that be in your personal relationships or in business. This can be quite difficult as a business with so many moving parts, people and idea’s about what the business stands for. Is what you think your brand stands for the same as the person working next to you? Does the team understand the businesses values, mission and purpose? Is everyone bought in? Well, first things first….
One thing we love doing for our clients here at Narrative Marketing is running Internal Value’s sessions. The opportunity to sit down with a cross-section of the company and really nut out who they are, what they stand for and where they are going is always an energising and motivating task.
We find sometimes clients can feel as though it’s going to be too fluffy to make a difference – but this just isn’t the case. Having a room full of passionate staff around the table, having opinions heard and discussed, always created a real and robust identity.
There are three main parts to this session that we feel are critical foundations for a successful, harmonious and efficient team.
Mission Statement or Vision Statement
The mission statement is the perfect place to start. This statement is often unchanged over time, as it’s a base overarching statement. To create a great Mission Statement you need to include a general theme of what’s important to the organisation and the way it operates. This may be along the lines of making money, creating change or facilitating others to achieve – there is no right or wrong.
You also need to clarify who you exist to help and which industries you aim to do this in. This keeps the focus narrow and specific, both keys to a great mission statement. Lastly, you want to touch on where the business is going in the future, this can be somewhat aspirational and should inspire your team to push in it’s direction.
Here’s a great example of Twitter’s Mission Statement.
“To give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information
instantly, without barriers.”
Purpose.
If a business has no clearly articulated purpose, why are you doing what you’re doing? Ask yourself the question – why do we exist as an organisation? This sometimes means looking back at why the business was started in the first place? What was the problem it is solving for it’s customer?
It’s important here to not look at how you will go about solving the problem, but rather keep it short and concise as to
your ‘what’.
IKEA do a great job of collating their purpose into one sentence.
“At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for everyone. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”
Internal Company Values.
The corporate values of a business dictate and direct the expectations around how each team member will behave and are non-negotiable. This means that as a business expands or seeks to create more wealth or exposure for itself, the values must be upheld and honoured. Too many times have we seen the downfall of a great business loose it’s identity (values) as they try to expand. Having clear, real and specific values for your business and the team will ensure continuity as the business evolves.
These values can relate to how your business treats its customers, stakeholders, management, staff and subcontractors as well as to encourage good decision making in sticky situations.
Ordinarily, you’d shoot for 4-6 values, more or less depending on how succinct you can me. Zappos on the other hand, went for 10, so if you feel they are important and unique to one another, don’t hold back. Check them out below.
1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More with Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble
If you feel like your business could benefit from a good robust conversation about their values, mission and purpose – please be in touch by clicking the botton below.