“What is our mission?” It sounds like we must be talking about a military matter, doesn’t it?
A mission, or objective or goal (whatever title we give it) is critical to a group of people moving in the same direction. Without a clear sense of where we are heading, we humans are simply destined to go in different directions.
So then, why are mission statements so rarely useful? Many employees might honestly answer that mission statements are just academic exercises without much practicality in the real world.
I believe the disconnect about our need for group focus and its lack of usefulness in the real world is due to implementation. Too few groups (be it for-profits or not-for-profits), it seems, are truly committed to their mission, and that shows to their employees and other stakeholders.
That is not the case here at Pension Consultants. Our professional consultants and staff understand that our mission is real. It is our mission to be a thought leader, to provide exceptional value and to deliver comprehensive, world-class solutions to our clients within the retirement planning industry.
These three components: thought leader, exceptional value, and comprehensive, world-class solutions drive our decisions as well as how we measure ourselves. We start many of our meetings by first reading our mission statement and guiding principles, and we frequently discuss their meaning and application. To us, a mission statement isn’t simply some academic exercise written for marketing results. It is, instead, what we have assembled to do.
In Built to Last, authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras reveal that great companies preserve their core values while stimulating change in everything else they do. Our mission statement and guiding principles help us gather around these shared values and ensure that those values, more than anything else, are what we wish to hold on to.
Please let me know how we’re doing. While it is a journey and not a destination, we have to continually monitor our path.
Mission Statement: Our mission is to be a thought leader, to provide exceptional value and to deliver comprehensive, world-class solutions to our clients within the retirement planning industry.
Guiding Principles:
1. We will conduct business with honesty, integrity and transparency.
2. We will do the right thing, regardless of the consequences of time, effort or money.
3. We will attract and retain talented professionals, who are dedicated and accountable.
4. Our long-term success is dependent upon balancing the interests of employees, clients, owners and our service partners.
5. We are most successful individually when we are working most effectively together.
6. Get Better. Get Better. Get Better.
