What is a mission?

The mission is inspiring and provides a concise and powerful description of what your company stands for and strives towards. It defines the role that your organization can and wants to play in the market, also known as its raison d'être or core identity. The mission directly reflects the goal-oriented nature of your entire business operations, as all decisions and actions should contribute to your organization's mission.

By carefully formulating the mission, it provides direction for your employees as well as for customers who best align with your mission. In other words, the quality of your customers matches the quality of your mission. Only then can there be absolute focus in all processes, which automatically leads to higher revenues and lower costs (provided you have a promising and balanced business model, of course).

A clear mission gives your organization direction to determine its goals and strategies. It functions as a compass that keeps the organization on track and helps in making decisions that are in line with its objectives. Additionally, the mission gives your organization a unique identity and distinguishes it from other players in the market. It shows customers, employees, and other stakeholders what the organization stands for.

An inspiring mission motivates employees in striving towards common goals. It provides a sense of purpose and pride for those who are part of your organization. A clear mission also attracts customers who can identify with the values and goals of your organization, and subsequently builds loyalty by creating an emotional bond between your organization and its customers.

Furthermore, the mission serves as a reference point when making strategic decisions. It helps in evaluating new opportunities, projects, or partnerships to ensure they fit with the vision and strategic goals of your organization.

A strong and clear mission is therefore of utmost importance for the success and sustainability of your organization, as it determines the course and provides direction to all aspects of its activities.

Step-by-step plan to develop a good mission:

1. Inventory of current resources

• The responsible person gathers available information and documents it in the mission input field within ICR
• includes outcomes of previous attempts to formulate a good mission
• elements that are important and documented in research reports, annual reports, or (strategic) plans
• similar texts from competitors and other relevant organizations

2. Share inventory results of step 1 with the core team

• Share the results of step 1 with the core team of your organization via the "Share with your team" function in the mission input field within ICR
• discuss which elements must be included in the mission
• document in the mission input field within ICR
• formulate a draft description of the mission and formally request feedback from the core team via the "Share with your team" function

3. Ensure broad support within the organization

• if the core team is satisfied with the draft mission, seek feedback from a larger group of employees across all levels and departments
• based on the feedback, the core team finalizes the mission description
• request feedback once more from previously involved employees to ensure the most recent feedback and corresponding scores are recorded within ICR
• core team members ensure everyone understands what the mission means for their daily work

Sustainable success through manageable and controlled growth

The ICR online business software helps entrepreneurs and organizations find balance and peace, through manageable and controlled growth, with the goal of a healthy organization and sustainable success. We do this through the all-encompassing ICR cycle.

Choose our successful approach and start your process to go from ambition to result with the ICR Ambition Refresher!

The comprehensive ICR cycle