Mission Statement definition

A mission statement is a distillation of the purpose of a company, typically codified and circulated widely. Companies are increasingly using mission statements as part of their corporate social responsibility policies, in order to promote transparency, allow outsiders to get under the skin of the company and make sure that all business actions can be judged against standardised criteria.

Mission statements range from punchy one-liners to more complex statements of purpose, which may delve into the company’s history, operations and values to provide a clear and direct set of beliefs that guide all behaviours.

According to business consultant Christopher Bart, mission statements typically include the target market, the company’s ultimate contribution to the market and the company’s competitive advantage or USP.