To write a clear and effective mission statement, we came up with a simple but very effective method called
"Inverted Cake".
We start with general questions—there are only three of them—and we end with a cherry—the most important question. By answering this, you will understand the uniqueness of your company.
So, 4 questions that we have to answer together with your managers:
What are we doing? (Description of your product, services).
How do we do this? (What do you do better than your competitors? Your secret sauce).
Who are we doing this for? (Description of the target audience, finding out their pains and needs).
Why are we doing this?
The last question is decisive. Any company can tell you what they do, a small percentage understand how they make money, but very few can explain why they do it.
Most companies continue to talk to the client the same way: «We make good, comfortable smartphones with a stylish design and an affordable price.".
But this is not at all inspiring. With such wording, you are only selling the product, but people are much more interested in the history and status of your brand.
For example, IKEA’s mission is:«Improving everyone’s daily life».
Or Coca-Cola's mission:«Refresh the world, body, mind and spirit; Awaken optimism with the help of our drinks and our deeds; Bring meaning to everything we do.»
Agree, we would have treated these companies completely differently if they had more modest missions. And the fact that these brands and their products have become part of our daily lives and even our cultural code proves that we don’t want to buy just a product, we need history and scale.
