Q) I think the CEO has sneaked in a change to the mission statement. This morning I noticed a new bullet, “To double December profits.” I thought once you had a mission statement, you stick with it – and not change it just because you want something to happen. Should I say anything?
A) There are many misconceptions about the corporate mission statement. The first misconception is that anybody pays attention to it. The second misconception is that it has any value whatsoever. The third misconception is that it’s worth the paper it’s printed on.
Your question really falls in all three categories. You have been paying a lot of attention to this issue when, according to experts, you really should be writing your own personal mission statement. However, no one would pay attention to that either, so a personal mission statement would be just as worthless.
Remember that the purpose of a mission statement is to bring people together in pursuit of a common goal. If everyone already has a common goal — to ignore the mission statement — then why do you need one in the first place?
It appears that your mission is to cause trouble to the point you get fired.
Let’s hope nobody is paying attention to you.
Workplace Behaviorist Dr. Miles Rumphley answers your career questions. He reserves the right to embellish and totally fabricate questions and answers.
