I believe helping your people to understand why their work is meaningful is the most important thing a leader can do.

Ben Arntson of ProIT, a division of the Ray Morgan Company, told me recently that his company has actually closed a couple of major sales to government clients in part because of the points they gained in the evaluation from handing the prospective client their laminated mission statement.  

Their mission statement fits on a business card.  The front states:

F

ocus

O

n our

C

ustomer's

U

ltimate

S

atisfaction

The back side provides their mission statement, toll-free phone number and Ray Morgan logo with slogan and Customer Excellence since 1956 to demonstrate they have been around a long time proving themselves.

Your mission statement is only one piece of helping your employees understand why they are doing Meaningful Work, but it is important.  Consider the Meeting Ideas to possibly strengthen th influence of your mission statement on employee, client and vendor perceptions of your company.

MEETING IDEAS

THEY ACTUALLY CARE hopefully reminds you to not write a mission statement and then pay no attention to it.  At the end of your career you will be left with your integrity, or character.  Part of how you will be perceived and your satisfaction with your career will depend on whether you felt the work was meaningful.

Consider asking your people these questions during your next one-on-one or team meeting to explore your mission statement:

1.  Can anyone state our company mission statement by memory?  (If not, this indicates it may be too long.  Consider a shorter, simpler statement.) 

2.  Does our mission statement, as a company or if we have one just for our work group, accurately communicate what we believe is meaningful work?  If no, then why not?  If yes, then how?

3.  Give me examples of how we meet or exceed the standard(s) communicated in our mission statement.

4.  If you could be doing anything as a career right now, what would it be?  (What is your dream career?)

5.  How does your answer in #4 relate to our mission and your current job duties?  What could be done to better relate your work to your dream career or realign your responsibilities so your work for our company is more meaningful to you?