Organizations and business owners must begin with a mission statement if they want to succeed. These statements serve as compass or guiding principles for organizations and entrepreneurs to understand what their purpose is and determine whether they are anywhere near their goals. It tells customers and employees "what the business is all about and where it is headed" (Blake). Without a mission statement, businesses could lose track of their intentions and consequently, fail in their objectives, because mission statements represent the company and tell where the company is headed.
Whenever I buy products or avail of services of companies, I check their websites and often refer to the companies' mission and vision statements. I do this because I want to see whether a company is reliable and evaluate whether the company adheres to its mission statement. For me, this is a very important factor if I were to deal with a company or patronize a product because it depicts a company's commitment to serve its customers and society in general, and not only exist for the sole purpose of profit (Williams).
In terms of developing a personal mission statement, I do believe that just like organizations, individuals must have their own personal statements. These mission statements help individuals "visualize what they really need to achieve in life, personal and professional" (Ahamed). Writing down the personal statement is the first step in fulfilling one's goals because the next stage would be the execution of the goals and the mission statement. While doing so, an individual may update the statements according to how the plans and the vision fit in the general scheme of things. When steps do not seem to help in pushing the mission forward, then changing the plans is the best course of action instead of altering the goal. Thus, success will be at arm's reach when mission statements are in place, whether it be on the personal or professional level.
References
Ahamed, A. (2009). Importance of the personal mission statement. The Sunday Times. Retrieved from http://www.sundaytimes.lk/091122/Education/06.html
Blake. (2010). The importance of a mission statement. Think Big Partners. Retrieved from http://www.thinkbigpartners.com/start-a-business/202-the-importance-of-a-mission-statement.html
Williams, B. (n.d.). The mission statement – why, how and its importance. Multi-Level Marketing International Association. Retrieved from https://www.mlmia.com/benefits/free-benefits/articles-archives/85-the-mission-statement-why-how-and-its-importance
