At its core, a mission statement should answer this question:
*****Why does the company exist?*****
A profound question that is easy to overlook!
1/ Mission Statements 🧵
I used to think mission statements were just corporate fluff
False words that companies created for HR reasons
I've slowly changed my mind about them
They are THE BEST stakeholder alignment & decision-making tool ever
EVER!
Need convincing? ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
At its core, a mission statement should answer this question:
*****Why does the company exist?*****
A profound question that is easy to overlook!
Mission Statements should guide ALL of the actions of the organization
It's like a company's North Star
If an activity doesn’t advance the mission,
it should be discarded!
If an activity does advance the mission,
it should be adopted!
Mission: WHY the company exists
Vision: What the company/world looks like if the company is successful
Both important, but they are NOT interchangeable
is because the vast majority of companies/CEOs
don't believe they matter!
Most companies SUCK at creating & communicating them!
Why should employees/shareholders care about a mission
if the company/CEO doesn't?
****Why does the company exist?****
What problem is the company trying to solve????
and have a few things in common
1⃣Simple - as few words as possible
2⃣Inspirational -- they motivate all stakeholders
3⃣Optionable -- they leave the "how" open-ended
4⃣Communicated often -- Managers restate the mission regularly
I randomly choose Proctor & Gamble
I searched "Proctor & Gamble mission statement"
$PG doesn't have a mission statement, but rather a purpose
Here's what it says:
think could recite this purpose word for word?
I bet it rounds to zero
Is it:
1⃣Simple - no!
2⃣Inspirational -- eh
3⃣Optionable -- sort of
4⃣Communicated often -- not from what I see
FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!
"To improve the lives of the world's consumers"
THAT would be a great mission
Imagine if $PG actually said/believed this
and communicated it often.
I bet it would help to align ALL of $PG's key stakeholders
AND dramatically simply decision making across the company
I bet you have heard the company's mission!
“to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
1⃣Simple - yes!
2⃣Inspirational -- yes!
3⃣Optionable -- yes!
4⃣Communicated often -- yes!
Which aligns ALL of $TSLA's key stakeholders
1⃣Customers
2⃣Employees
3⃣Investors
4⃣Managers
5⃣Suppliers
6⃣Society
behind its mission
to OPEN SOURCE $TSLA's patents?
WHY WOULD ANY COMPANY DO THIS????
Answer:
Doing so
*accelerates the world’s transition to sustainable energy*
VOLUNTEERED TO WORK FOR FREE
(FOR FREE)
to help the company?
Think about that!
Is it possible that they did so
because they believe so deeply in the company's mission?
So who else nails mission statements?
$ZNGA: "to connect the world through games"
$CRWD: "to protect our customers from breaches"
$AAXN: "to protect life"
A+ all around!
"to make the world smarter, happier, and richer."
Fool Live was launched in 2020 in response to COVID-19
@TomGardnerFool & @DavidGFool asked:
Will Fool Live "make the world smarter, happier, and richer?"
Yes, Yes, Yes
Do it!
"to spread financial wellness"
My time is aligned around this mission
I spend A TON of time on Twitter, Fool Live, & Podcasts
Financially, this makes little sense
but, it's THE BEST way that I know
"to spread financial wellness"
Like, REALLY hard
Took me a long time to settle on
"to spread financial wellness"
Lots of conversations with @TMFStoffel
(who is the person that turned me on to the power
of mission statements the most)
I bet you'll make different decisions
both in the short-term and long-term!
(Co-founder of @Twitch)
His #1 lesson from a recently failed startup?
"Start with the mission"
A+ from me!
https://t.co/pCq4ZtVHyo
Start with the mission\u2070.
— Justin Kan (@justinkan) January 6, 2021
It is very hard to write the mission after the fact. You should start with a clear reason to exist and filter early hires for believers.
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Two year back thread on MFI, someone liked this so came up in notifications . Rather than running around 100s of indicators, I have made this my go to indicator under any circumstances and have been using this for years
This thread actually had some great answers , one can learn a lot about the thought processes of different traders from the answers. Please go thru them
What do you think/use as the most robust leading indicator if following technical analysis ? Please answer with reason , I will provide my answer after 2 hours
— Subhadip Nandy (@SubhadipNandy16) August 12, 2019
( At Delhi airport , bored as hell )
This thread actually had some great answers , one can learn a lot about the thought processes of different traders from the answers. Please go thru them
As the DeFi bull market continues, some brutally honest tips for new founders fundraising in crypto.
👇
1/ The discount you offer to strategic investors is both to account for the risk of an unlaunched product, but also as compensation for continued value add and support.
So make sure you know the investor will support you and not leave you on read once the docs are signed!
2/ Having someone on your cap table/ token allocation is as important as hiring.
You wouldn't hire someone just because they are influencers on Twitter- you do your reference checks and find evidence of value add from other companies the investor has invested in.
3/ Don't trust, verify.
Many investors will promise you the world when they're trying to get on your cap table.
Talk to founders they backed to see how much of it is bullshit. Ask them about how the investor was there for them during hard times.
4/ Don't just go for "name brand" funds because you want the brand.
Sure, it's great validation, but optimize for fit, not vanity.
However, I do think many well-known VCs are good actors, especially those with roots in successful trad VCs. They have a rep for a reason!
👇
Equity/ownership is a force. Getting it in the hands of the right people generously will drive alignment and execution.
— Joey Santoro (@Joey__Santoro) January 21, 2021
It is a joyful and serious responsibility \U0001f332
1/ The discount you offer to strategic investors is both to account for the risk of an unlaunched product, but also as compensation for continued value add and support.
So make sure you know the investor will support you and not leave you on read once the docs are signed!
2/ Having someone on your cap table/ token allocation is as important as hiring.
You wouldn't hire someone just because they are influencers on Twitter- you do your reference checks and find evidence of value add from other companies the investor has invested in.
3/ Don't trust, verify.
Many investors will promise you the world when they're trying to get on your cap table.
Talk to founders they backed to see how much of it is bullshit. Ask them about how the investor was there for them during hard times.
4/ Don't just go for "name brand" funds because you want the brand.
Sure, it's great validation, but optimize for fit, not vanity.
However, I do think many well-known VCs are good actors, especially those with roots in successful trad VCs. They have a rep for a reason!
