Or, what are you doing, where are you going, and how do you plan to get there? Many well-intended folks have made the honest errors of forming committees, conducting focus groups, haggling over minutiae, and taking months to write elaborate mission, vision, and strategy statements, only to set them aside as unrealistic, too complicated, or out of touch with the real world. Conversely, others have written excellent statements and then erred in their implementation by allowing the statements to become trite platitudes with no real force or meaning. There is a better way!
What is a Mission Statement?
Before you can write one, you must understand exactly what a mission statement is, and what it does. A mission statement is a pithy summary of what your business ought to be doing. When a NASA space shuttle blasts into space on a new mission, there are always several mission specialists on board who have lists of objectives they intend to accomplish on their journey. Their missions are what they are supposed to be doing. The mission of my practice, Senior Partners, LLC, is to:
Provide the Finest Relationship Experience in Our Market
We know that we are in competition with Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Investments, Edward Jones, and a host of other big name wire houses and investment firms. They have thousands of employees; I have twelve. They have research departments; I have a paraplanner. They have advertising budgets; I rely on word of mouth. They have fancy downtown offices; I am in the neighborhood. They are household names; I can provide a superior relationship experience. Neither can Merrill nor Fidelity match the experience I can deliver to their clients, and we win them away, everyday. We don’t do this by dropping their entire $1 million 401k rollover into a mix of our own proprietary mutual funds or one of our cookie-cutter managed stock portfolios (we have neither). We do this by spending a minimum of an hour and a half in every client meeting to make sure we understand the client’s needs and deliver value to their portfolios. We do this by serving them freshly ground Starbucks coffee with steaming baked pastries in the morning, and piping hot homemade cookies with herbal tea or an icy cold glass of milk in the afternoons, all delivered on our finest china. We do this by finding them unique investment alternatives to traditional stocks and bonds so that their portfolios are well diversified. We do this by sending a car to pick up elderly clients or drive them home when the sun sets before their appointment ends. And, we do this by taking a slow, step-by-step, rather than a quick, wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, approach to bringing on new accounts to ensure that both the client and the firm are a good fit for each other. In short, we make our clients feel special (and they love us for it), and we deliver real value to their financial lives (and they thank us for it).
Why a mission statement?
It is a rallying point and a decision screener. First, a rallying point. People have trouble getting excited and committed to vague notions of purpose. They want to know what they are supposed to be doing, so that they can accomplish their tasks, find satisfaction in their work, and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Without a mission, the people become listless, robotic, time card punchers, longing for quitting time, and daydreaming about the weekend. Give people a mission they can sink their teeth into, and watch them take pride in their work. Watch them keep their coworkers on track. Watch them self-start, continuously improve, and set their own goals. A mission statement is a framework for self-fulfillment. Every organization needs one.
Second, a mission statement is a decision screener. Every decision gets screened by the mission statement. If it doesn’t serve the mission, we don’t do it. Everything we do must be consistent with our mission. As I have coached my team on the mission of our practice, they now bring far fewer decisions to me. They know we’re in the relationship business. They can now make many decisions on their own because they have the tool to do so. It’s the mission statement. They are empowered. The practice is empowered. The client reaps the rewards of an efficient, focused, savvy investment advisor, who knocks the ball out of the park every time he meets with them, because his staff has his back. If you don’t have a good mission statement, you won’t make the best decisions.
Stay tuned for Vision and Strategy, which will be addressed in subsequent posts.
One of the reasons for our success at Senior Partners is that we have a clear mission statement that not only defines our purpose, it also differentiates us from the competitors in the market.
Senior Partners implements Biblical principles. God has shown us the importance of relationships, first with Him and then with others, always treating them as we want to be treated. We are committed to helping others become good stewards of their money.
The Senior Partner’s misson statement supports going the extra mile for every client. I strive to achive this with client services everyday whether it is on the phone or in person. I believe it keeps the clients investing and also opens doors for referrals.
At Senior Partners we are committed to our clients in that we all stand proudly by our mission statement: “Provide the Finest Relationship Experience in Our Market”. We do this by not only building a relationship with our clients, but by also building a family bond with each and every one of our clients. We always treat them as we want to be treated; treating them with both care and respect. By implementing our actions and mission statement, our clients are proud to call Senior Partners, “A home away from home”.
What every advisor ought to do is strive to take excellent care of their clients. Success in this area stabilizes an advisor’s relationships. This type of stability means that the inevitable ups and downs of any financial plan will not be classified as highs or lows in the relationship, but mere scenery along the way.
At Senior Partners, Noel cultivates and grows the client relationship and our team maintains those relationships through our mission. It is vital that our team reinforces, to each other, accountability to the mission statement. Simply put, either in engaging with the team or clients, I strive to Be Prompt, Be Precise, Be Professional and Be Present.
Personal motivation can be difficult to develop in a place of business. Different things motivate each of us. Having a mission has given us that rallying point you speak of above. We each know the direction we should be going as a group and can focus our particular jobs in that direction.
Although I have only been with Senior Partners for a short while, learning and living by our Mission Statement inspires me on a daily basis. It is a true pleasure to meet and assist our clients with any questions or concerns they may have. Since I am the first face they see, I greet them with a friendly smile and warm handshake. Helping our clients to feel comfortable and welcome is something I look forward to!
Knowing what your ultimate goal is supposed to be, which by virtue, defines the parameters to measure the success or shortfall in achieving that goal, helps an individual, a group, or a business stay focused and on track. Subsequently, satisfaction can be obtained from knowing that a job was well done and where improvements can be made.
The first time I walked through the doors at Senior Partners, I felt a sense of warmth and community. My friends and family say that I have a glow when I talk about this office, its people, and its clients. For the first time, I found a group of professionals who share the primary purpose for which I was created, to build quality relationships. We share a mission.
Just coming on-board, today…. reading through the mission statement has given me a since of team to draw from today. Not knowing a lot about this business and trusting God for the learning, the thought of “providing the finest relationship experience in our market” gives me confidence that I have joined a team of integrity.
The personal touch that Senior Partners gives to clients is the way every business should approach their clients.
So many companies are unfocused due to a lack of vision, purpose, mission. It would be wise for all companies (even ones with a mission statement) to take some serious time to revisit old mission statements and see if they are still the mission! You’d be surprised to learn that many mission statements were made up by a few people or even one person. That may be OK for a one man company, but these statements need to be further refined to keep on target. Do a “mission statement review” today.
I have found that having a goal set out in writing keeps me focused on that goal. I have a reference to rely upon should my focus waver. The Golden Rule, “Treat others as you would have them treat you”, and conversely the Silver Rule, “Do not treat others as you would not want to be treated”, are ideals instilled by our mission statement. Providing others with the experience we ourselves would expect, is the way we believe God intended us (and everyone) to do business.