Who cares about a Mission Statement? It’s just words. Just words! When a person decides to create a property management company to produce apartments for the market place there is something special that happens. That entrepreneur has seen a need that they want to fulfill. While they want to make money, if that is their only reason for being in business they will have a tough road ahead. Great leaders realize that it requires more than a desire to make money in order to build a lasting property management company that will reign at the top of the industry and be known for producing a great community with excellent customer service. They write a mission statement that speaks to their dedication to their customer and employees. The mission statement embodies the vision of the entrepreneur and defines the way they will go about conducting business. The mission statement confirms that while they are in business to make money it will not take precedent over delivering value to its residents, partners, and the community at large.

In the early days of building an organization the entrepreneur is working alone or with a few key individuals. It is very easy to ensure the high quality of product and service to the end user. This high quality drives success and increases business. As the company continues to expand the entrepreneur is now a business leader and becomes more disconnected with their employees and customer. As the organization continues its growth the entrepreneur/business leader will become totally disconnected from the majority of their customers and employees. Out of necessity they have delegated the entire management of their dream to people in some cases they have never met. Can you see the problem here? They now use policies and procedures in an effort to produce the same level of commitment and results. Let me be clear, policies and procedures are essential. But policies and procedures cannot replace the vision and passion that created such a great organization.

This is why Mission Statements matter. Mission Statements can be used to communicate to each employee the vision and spirit of that young entrepreneur that started this now full grown organization. As a leader of an organization you want every team member working the same way that small group worked together years ago when the business first started. They may not have access to the Founder/CEO like that smaller group did but they can understand their passion and reason for starting the company. They can understand the commitment to the customer, to the partners, to each other, and to producing a great community.