Is your mission impossible? How will you know? Today, we’re going to talk about it.

Very often when you’re talking about brands, you’ll hear someone ask about your mission statement. Now if you write that correctly, it can also serve as a short pitch about your company. If you have a vision statement already, it can’t really go anywhere without the mission. The mission helps understand the purpose of your brand and what you are going to accomplish. Notice I said what you are going to. That’s because the mission is the roadmap and clearly defines how you’re going to fulfill the vision.

Your mission statement is action-oriented. It creates an emotional connection with the audience by describing the purpose of why your brand exists. Your goals and objectives are centered around the mission. In other words, I want you to think of the mission as you being in a car on the road. Each street you pass is an objective. The main intersections are goals. You’re going to keep passing them as you go along to get to the vision and depending on what’s added along the way, it can be a very long and winding road, but as long as you’re on that mission, you will move the needle.

In other words, it’s what your brand does, who your brand does it for, and how your brand does what they need to do. Now although this sounds good, you may still be wondering why you need a mission statement, and here are a few reasons why.

For one, it determines the direction of your brand. Even if you don’t have a team in place, you need to consistently remind yourself why your brand exists. It helps makes your direction clear. It also provides focus for the future. While the vision talks about what you want to achieve in the future, the mission is the right now that will get you to that vision.

The mission statement is a blueprint for making decisions. Your mission sets boundaries. It also sets standards for thinking about your brand and what you need to do to stay on the path. In other words, think of how a map helps a tourist, or a template is to a computer programmer. A mission statement is the basis for alignment. What does that mean? It means your mission helps everyone working for and on your brand become aligned and on the same page. Teamwork makes the dream work.

It also welcomes change. Being fearful of change will have you stuck in the same position a year from now, right? People are resistant to change because it may make you feel insecure or even out of control and that’s okay. But with a clear mission, people will see why you need that change and also the value it adds to the brand. Remember - evolution is paramount in building your brand.

So, with that mission statement, you’ll also help shape strategy. Because if your brand doesn’t have a strategy, how do you know what comes next? You want to create an effective strategy that will accomplish your mission – that means focusing on you and your brand. Think about the competition but don’t make the competition your first priority. Don’t try and copy the competition or do anything of that nature because your brand is yours and yours alone.

It encourages evaluation and improvement. “What you measure will be your mission.” That means a mission statement will give you a clear direction on what to measure and how to measure it.

Now, all of this should be outlined in one or two sentences for maximum effectiveness. And you may be wondering can I put this in one or two sentences? Absolutely. You want it to be specific with a focus on the future. It needs to provide direction, be unique, concise, and driven by your values.

So, keep the scope narrow and relevant to your brand and make sure it can drive your high-level goals now and in the future. Your mission statement should be able to set priorities and drive decisions while saying something no other brand is saying. Don’t be cliché and say what you mean with heart. Finally, make sure you communicate what you’re doing to improve the lives of customers and employees. They’ll appreciate you for it and you’ll appreciate your brand.

Your mission drives the magic behind your brand. Once you have that in place, you’ll be on the road to smooth sailing.