Question

What companies have failed their mission statements and why?

Answer 1

Abstract

Below are the names of businesses, their mission statement which is failed

1. Starbucks

Mission statement “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world with 20,891 stores in 62 countries and expects to see a positive impact of $110 – $120 million in 2014 from the falling coffee prices

2. Facebook

Mission statement “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

”Though Facebook took a dive in profits in 2012, with their mobile app addition, it is now surging once again and up 100% over last year’s third quarter report – to the tune of $621 million.

3. General Electric

Mission statement “One might think that the money value of an invention constitutes its reward to the man who loves his work. But I continue to find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success"

GE has done a magnificent job of passing on something intangible since 1892 and that is of far greater value than just a mission statement to all the CEOs who have followed its original founders.

4. Walmart

Mission statement “We help people save money so they can live better.”

Walmart landed the #1 position once again on the Fortune 500 list for 2012.

In Conclusion, All of these companies are far more than just financially successful. They have touched millions of lives and made them better. Each founder had a driving passion that was behind the start up of their company.

It was the fire in their soul. It was something they believed in and were willing to give everything they had to make it a reality and share it with the world. And they have kept that passion alive. They did not let it be squelched by limiting themselves to what works for others or just by standard practices

Below are the reason for failing the missions statements

The purpose of a mission statement is to communicate the organisation's purpose and direction to its employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders. A mission statement also creates a sense of identity for its employees

Many companies got their mission statement via something like a focus group, maybe a retreat with senior leaders or maybe a series of meetings from a cross-section of people across the company. From there, they drafted a quick statement of “what we do” and begin to brainstorm different ways to phrase it.

But as soon as they present that draft, people turn into parliamentarians lobbying for their respective interests. As soon as the first attempt is on the whiteboard, people start to act like college English professors debating the connotations of certain words and encouraging people to adopt their preferred word choice.

They end up with a mission statement that failed. Not because they didn’t put enough thought into it answering the question. But because we didn’t ask the right question to begin with the need of society