Missions used to be long texts that were forgotten on a company’s institutional website. Over time, management teams discovered their potential and it took on a much more active role: missions transformed into inspiring statements that guide teams in their day-to-day decisions and engage them with a greater purpose.

The topics addressed in the mission are linked to the company’s products or services, prices, quality, tech utilization, customers, employees, suppliers, competitors, and their communities.

Are you working on developing your mission or think it’s time to revamp it? If so, put these four steps into practice:

1. Describe the objective of your business in one sentence.
2. Ask two or three of your key staff members to do the same.
3. Discuss each point you saw as the purpose and create a 5 to 7 sentence paragraph that everyone agrees with.
4. Fine-tune the paragraph until each word reflects your business’ description.

With your mission statement now created, we recommend that you review it periodically to ensure that it is still in tune with the objectives of your company as it continues to evolve. If it no longer reflects why you are in business, it’s probably time to rediscover those key objectives.

Why is it important to define your mission?

For your company’s mission statement to stay relevant, it is important to understand its use:

• Guide teams toward goals: Staying focused is crucial in entrepreneurship. The mission encapsulates your company’s purpose and the objectives that your team is committed to. When designing strategies, always keep the mission in mind.
• Build company culture: Missions create mindsets and drive action. The more aligned your staff is to your mission, the easier it will be to collaborate and accomplish goals.
• Inspire customer loyalty: When customers believe in your mission and connect with you, they become loyal followers. Make sure your customers know your mission.

Developing a mission statement is a creative process that brings together multiple opinions and beliefs. The more involved your team is in a mission’s creation, the easier it will be to inspire customer loyalty, build company culture, and engage your team in a greater purpose.

This article is a translation of “Cómo definir la misión de mi negocio” by Endeavor Argentina. Translation by Endeavor Staff member Eric Marroquin with additional support from Laura Ginebra.