I thought company mission statements were dumb. Then I had to write my own.
Company mission statements are dumb. Actually…that’s too harsh. Company mission statements are not dumb, but there are instances in which the mission statement is corporate jargon that sounds great, but otherwise says nothing substantive.
True as that may be, corporate mission statements are also 100% necessary. After all, the company is asking for a person’s most important asset: trust. But what is a company exactly? To whom are customers giving their trust? A company is a faceless entity. Sure, it has a reputation, an online presence or a corporate tax ID, but that’s not the same as a living, breathing, person.
All this became abundantly clear when I started my own technical consulting company, PJL Industries. I got the idea to start my company after being drawn into a number of conversations and small projects for which I provided guidance or deliverables to friends and family. I figured that I might as well make my services official, so I proceeded to create a company name and registered entity, which turned out to be surprisingly easy. What wasn’t so easy, however, was creating content for my company’s website.
The work I had been doing was for people who knew me well. They knew what I did for a living, my abilities, mannerisms, trustworthiness, etc. I didn’t even need to pitch them — all I had to do was say “yes” when they asked for help. On the other hand, a random person who finds my company website doesn’t know the first thing about me. This poses an obvious question: How do I convey to a random stranger on the internet the same traits that got me my initial gigs?
I realized early on that this obvious question did not have an obvious answer, but I did know that I needed to write something that would succinctly convey who my company is and what we do. And that’s when it dawned on me that what I was describing is a mission statement. I couldn’t help but laugh given all the times I had disregarded mission statements that I had read, or even the ones I came up with myself during the “what would your personal mission statement be” interview question. I had finally realized exactly what a mission statement is and why these statements exist. Cool!
The Mission Statement Writing Process
Unfortunately, this realization didn’t make writing the PJL Industries mission statement easier. Choosing the optimal language and layout for a mission statement is a daunting task — especially when it’s your first real attempt. There were a lot of big questions that needed to be answered first. “Who is my intended audience?” “What do I want potential clients to take away from what I write?” “What select characteristics do I value most?” “How do I differentiate myself and avoid sounding trite?”
As with all big questions, coming up with a good answer required serious thought and reflection — especially because I wanted what I wrote to resonate with potential clients while avoiding the pitfalls of the empty mission statements I described above. Differentiating myself would be difficult to do, however, because there is only so much you can do through writing (there is a reason actions speak louder than words).
I resolved, therefore, to keep my content short, but to evoke a range of reactions. I wanted someone to read what I wrote and say, “I do like the sound of this company because…” or “I don’t like the sound of this company because…”. Obviously, my preference would be for everyone to like what I wrote, but that’s not realistic. The alternative would be to write something bland and safe, but being bland and safe wouldn’t be an accurate reflection of me or my company’s ethos. And the entire reason for starting your own company is to do things your way!
The PJL Industries Mission Statement
So what is the PJL Industries mission statement? Ironically, I didn’t explicitly define a mission statement on my website because I thought it would look pretentious to do so. Instead, I decided to use my website as a mosaic that could paint a better picture of my company than an explicit mission statement could. For example, I limited the number of sections, subsections, and content per section to reflect the PJL Industries belief in a lean approach to business and design. I also agonized over every word in an effort to use precise, unambiguous language representative of the conversations we have with our clients (even when I charge by the hour).
I am particularly proud of the “About” section, which I feel succinctly meets the objective of telling the reader exactly who PJL Industries is and exactly what we do. If I had to pick out a single sentence to define my company, it would be this:
“PJL Industries is in business to help clients avoid wasteful expenditures — not to become one.”
What’s Next
Much like my resume, my company website is a dynamic document that will go through countless design iterations and rewrites — each one forcing me to ask myself “what was I thinking?” The objective will remain the same, however: Let visitors know in no uncertain terms exactly who PJL Industries is and exactly what we do for our clients.
