Mission

Mama D’s Italian restaurant in Manhattan Beach, CA is a favorite spot for our team to eat.  It’s always busy and we keep coming back because the food and service really do exceed our expectations—every time.  Chris, the owner is a young guy who owns 3 incredibly successful restaurants, each with lines out the door every day of the year.  Last time we were there, we asked him: “What do you do to keep everyone so happy and focused on the customer?”

“It’s easy,” Chris explained.  “Let me show you. Josh, come over here please.  Tell these people here what we do.” And Josh the bus boy walked over and recited the mission (in italics above) verbatim to our table.  

A mission is a summary of your or your team’s purpose, approach, and guiding principles.  Individuals, teams, and organizations that are mission-driven are successful year over year.  It’s not a coincidence. Effective missions help motivate and inspire, and they help people make good decisions.  Here are ideas that top performers share with us regarding their mission statements and how they use them.

• Keep your mission simple and brief.  You don’t need to write War and Peace.  Your mission should be easy to remember and share.  Disney’s mission is: To make people happy.  If you lead a team, you can have one for yourself and your team.  Many successful managers write a team vision with their team.
• Share your mission.  Tell it to people in your business and personal lives.  People (including clients, prospects, and recruits) want to work with mission-driven people and organizations.  Many client and partner facing team members at Google share the company’s mission (to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful) as they introduce themselves to new prospects and partners.  And when was the last time you used Google?...they must be doing something right.
• Use your mission to make decisions.  Many decisions, that may seem challenging at first, can become much easier when you rely on your individual or team mission.  Recently, when we were at Mama D’s for dinner, a couple we know walked in about 15 min after the posted closing time. When faced with the question of should I seat them, it was easy for the hostess to recall her commitment to giving every guest a superior experience.  Of course they were seated, made to feel special, and left a large gratuity after the meal.

Take some time to create or refine your mission.  Then use it to stay motivated, make decisions, and exceed your expectations for your own performance this year.