Risk & Business Magazine Gifford Associates Spring 2016 | Page 28

Mission, Purpose & Vision Statements What’s the Difference? BY: JOHN DiJULIUS, PRESIDENT, THE DiJULIUS GROUP S tatement overload! When we start working with a consulting client and tell them the first place we start is creating a customer service vision statement, they say, “The last thing we need is another statement, we have mission statements, purpose statements, and our employees can’t even keep them straight.” Good businesses have evolved away from lengthy wordy mission statements that no employee can recite. Today it is okay to have three major company statements, provided it’s clear as to how they differ and how your employees need to decipher them. What is controllable? While every company needs strong, inspiring mission and purpose statements, they are results, not actions. If your mission is to be the #1 financial institution in the world, what does that tell a bank tell \