What's your mission statement?

FinishingTouchA

FinishingTouchA

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Who here has a mission statement? If not, do you have any idea where your company is going? What kind of service do you provide for your customers?

I just realized tonight that I don't have a mission statement and therefore my employees aren't working for anything but a paycheck. A mission statement defines your company's values, your plan, and the type of service you want to provide.

I'm going to sit down with my employees and work on ours this week. I've already got a few points that I want to make:
We pay attention to the DETAILS, we clean what is normally overlooked. We use quality products to ensure the best results. We don't cover up problems, we fix them. We are huge on preventative maintenance and protection. Our goal is to always go above or beyond customer expectations.

If you have a mission statement, post it here. (maybe we can even earn a sticky haha)
If you don't have one but have some core values in your organization feel free to post those too!
 
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. — Conan the Barbarian
 
To put Damon's dumb ass through as much college as the gods will allow. And make people's transportation look shiny as hell.

Maybe I should put that on my site.
 
I see all the professional detailers are busy working during this crazy busy season. j/k Love you guys! haha
 
FinishingTouchA said:
We pay attention to the DETAILS, we clean what is normally overlooked. We use quality products to ensure the best results. We don't cover up problems, we fix them. We are huge on preventative maintenance and protection. Our goal is to always go above or beyond customer expectations.
Click to expand...
If I may tweak it a bit:

We pay attention to the smallest details using only the finest products to ensure the best results; leading the way in meeting or exceeding customer expectations.
 
When I look at my mission statement, it provides my clients with a description of my goals. What is your goal? Is your goal to be another detail shop in your city? Or are you the best place to go in your city? Why? Why should I come to you? These are questions I ask myself when creating plans. Concentrate on what sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. I think sitting down with your team, addressing weak points, promoting strong practices, and really seeking out the goals that you have laid out will be beneficial ten fold.
 
FinishingTouchA said:
We pay attention to the DETAILS, we clean what is normally overlooked. We use quality products to ensure the best results. We don't cover up problems, we fix them. We are huge on preventative maintenance and protection. Our goal is to always go above or beyond customer expectations.
Click to expand...


You might wish to focus on the why, more than the how. If you want your employees to focus on more than the paycheck, there needs to be some motivation and a common goal, more than a procedure. "Quality products, protection, maintenance"...how do these inform your team on why they should work? Mission statements are not supposed to 'sell', but often they are used that way.

My suggestion is to build in some motivation for the employees, beyond 'customer expectations'. For example: 'treat it like its your own car', or 'cleaned to our personal standards', or perhaps 'treat it like its our mother's car' ...that sort of thing.

If you want your mission statement to work internally, forget using it externally. Drop formal wording, make it simple. Write it to inspire the team, not sell the product.
 
"To exceed a wide range of customer expectations at a reasonable cost using the most effective products, equipment and techniques. Along with that, maintain constant improvements in results utilizing a progressive approach and an open mind to new advancements."

That, to me, insures a dynamic and constantly evolving skill set.
 
roguerobot said:
My suggestion is to build in some motivation for the employees, beyond 'customer expectations'. For example: 'treat it like its your own car', or 'cleaned to our personal standards', or perhaps 'treat it like its our mother's car' ...that sort of thing.

If you want your mission statement to work internally, forget using it externally. Drop formal wording, make it simple. Write it to inspire the team, not sell the product.
Click to expand...

Not wanting to pick on you and your comments, but your comments sparked a few thoughts of my own. I'm nobody important...just a Joe.

The only thing that will motivate employees that may or may not share your goals is the same thing that motivates you...money. Bottom line...period! They are either born with good work ethic or they or not and it isn't very often it can be instilled in a person unless they show the strongest of desires to learn anything you can show them.

Saying all those things is nothing more than a lie if said employees aren't on the same page and working hard towards the same goal...making the company grow and in turn making that company profit while the owner and employees also profit. It's hard to keep all employees on the same page unless you're extremely blessed with a close knit team. How many places have that? Truth be told, not many. Share the knowledge, share the wealth (not talking socialism here, rather, the Golden Rule), and you'll not only be blessed with the best employees, those employees may even become some of your most loyal and dedicated friends who are willing to work hard for you and your company.

That's why some large companies spend thousands of dollars on recruiting efforts and strategy's, which mostly still fall short of their true goals of hiring just the right people. All you have to do is look at this economy over the last decade and start asking around...a lot...and talk to people who lost their jobs. Sadly, for many that lost work, their companies were looking for a way to cut them anyway. If you don't think head hunting was happening you are naïve (not you personally). Back to motivating employees...especially young employees.

You can't just treat them like employees...at least not in my mind. They need to become students and you need to become there mentor and guide on a learning journey and you need to...I'm going to borrow from Mike Phillips here and say...that you need to do a brain dump on them by educating them with everything you know. They have to know and realize that you're serious about investing in them as an employee whether they want to detail cars the rest of their lives or not. Teach them a skill and to do the best they can in any thing they do in life...then you have some winners. You have to give them something no one can take from them...knowledge and a skill set. That's what makes Mike's classes so successful...at least in my mind. That's how you motivate them by showing them how passionate you are about making sure they learn and show them how pumped you are about giving them a new skill set. Once you have their trust that you value them, then they are sponges and team work really begins. Then and only then can your mission statement mean anything to them and to your customers. Your company can't have character if your employees don't have true character. The customers will see the mission through the work effort/ethic and character of the entire team. If you have employees remember you are nothing without good people and they are nothing without you...no "I" in team.

With those thought in mind you might be able to properly word a good mission statement. It doesn't hurt to mention the values of the company and the values you are looking for in the people you wish to hire.

Sincerely,

Joe
 
To be the dominate provider of all high end detailing services for my entire market and periodically beyond.
 
Hoytman said:
Not wanting to pick on you and your comments, but your comments sparked a few thoughts of my own. I'm nobody important...just a Joe.

The only thing that will motivate employees that may or may not share your goals is the same thing that motivates you...money. Bottom line...period! They are either born with good work ethic or they or not and it isn't very often it can be instilled in a person unless they show the strongest of desires to learn anything you can show them.

Saying all those things is nothing more than a lie if said employees aren't on the same page and working hard towards the same goal...making the company grow and in turn making that company profit while the owner and employees also profit. It's hard to keep all employees on the same page unless you're extremely blessed with a close knit team. How many places have that? Truth be told, not many. Share the knowledge, share the wealth (not talking socialism here, rather, the Golden Rule), and you'll not only be blessed with the best employees, those employees may even become some of your most loyal and dedicated friends who are willing to work hard for you and your company.

That's why some large companies spend thousands of dollars on recruiting efforts and strategy's, which mostly still fall short of their true goals of hiring just the right people. All you have to do is look at this economy over the last decade and start asking around...a lot...and talk to people who lost their jobs. Sadly, for many that lost work, their companies were looking for a way to cut them anyway. If you don't think head hunting was happening you are naïve (not you personally). Back to motivating employees...especially young employees.

You can't just treat them like employees...at least not in my mind. They need to become students and you need to become there mentor and guide on a learning journey and you need to...I'm going to borrow from Mike Phillips here and say...that you need to do a brain dump on them by educating them with everything you know. They have to know and realize that you're serious about investing in them as an employee whether they want to detail cars the rest of their lives or not. Teach them a skill and to do the best they can in any thing they do in life...then you have some winners. You have to give them something no one can take from them...knowledge and a skill set. That's what makes Mike's classes so successful...at least in my mind. That's how you motivate them by showing them how passionate you are about making sure they learn and show them how pumped you are about giving them a new skill set. Once you have their trust that you value them, then they are sponges and team work really begins. Then and only then can your mission statement mean anything to them and to your customers. Your company can't have character if your employees don't have true character. The customers will see the mission through the work effort/ethic and character of the entire team. If you have employees remember you are nothing without good people and they are nothing without you...no "I" in team.

With those thought in mind you might be able to properly word a good mission statement. It doesn't hurt to mention the values of the company and the values you are looking for in the people you wish to hire.

Sincerely,

Joe
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
Hoytman said:
Not wanting to pick on you and your comments, but your comments sparked a few thoughts of my own. I'm nobody important...just a Joe.

The only thing that will motivate employees that may or may not share your goals is the same thing that motivates you...money. Bottom line...period! They are either born with good work ethic or they or not and it isn't very often it can be instilled in a person unless they show the strongest of desires to learn anything you can show them.

Saying all those things is nothing more than a lie if said employees aren't on the same page and working hard towards the same goal...making the company grow and in turn making that company profit while the owner and employees also profit. It's hard to keep all employees on the same page unless you're extremely blessed with a close knit team. How many places have that? Truth be told, not many. Share the knowledge, share the wealth (not talking socialism here, rather, the Golden Rule), and you'll not only be blessed with the best employees, those employees may even become some of your most loyal and dedicated friends who are willing to work hard for you and your company.

That's why some large companies spend thousands of dollars on recruiting efforts and strategy's, which mostly still fall short of their true goals of hiring just the right people. All you have to do is look at this economy over the last decade and start asking around...a lot...and talk to people who lost their jobs. Sadly, for many that lost work, their companies were looking for a way to cut them anyway. If you don't think head hunting was happening you are naïve (not you personally). Back to motivating employees...especially young employees.

You can't just treat them like employees...at least not in my mind. They need to become students and you need to become there mentor and guide on a learning journey and you need to...I'm going to borrow from Mike Phillips here and say...that you need to do a brain dump on them by educating them with everything you know. They have to know and realize that you're serious about investing in them as an employee whether they want to detail cars the rest of their lives or not. Teach them a skill and to do the best they can in any thing they do in life...then you have some winners. You have to give them something no one can take from them...knowledge and a skill set. That's what makes Mike's classes so successful...at least in my mind. That's how you motivate them by showing them how passionate you are about making sure they learn and show them how pumped you are about giving them a new skill set. Once you have their trust that you value them, then they are sponges and team work really begins. Then and only then can your mission statement mean anything to them and to your customers. Your company can't have character if your employees don't have true character. The customers will see the mission through the work effort/ethic and character of the entire team. If you have employees remember you are nothing without good people and they are nothing without you...no "I" in team.

With those thought in mind you might be able to properly word a good mission statement. It doesn't hurt to mention the values of the company and the values you are looking for in the people you wish to hire.

Sincerely,

Joe
Click to expand...

Update on the employees. This week I sat down with each of them individually for an hour and talked about what they like and dislike and how they feel about certain things. Also talked about their 1-5 year goals. Gave them each a $2 raise and told them we'd have these meetings more frequently, once a month. Told them what I expect in a month is to check their work and find nothing they missed (this is especially hard on interiors as my standard is good as new). I told them to hold me accountable for lots and lots more training. After just 2 days I'm seeing a huge improvement. Honestly I should have hired a third person last month to keep up with the workload, but instead I wanted to work on profiting and ended up working my a$$ off rather than spending time training and monitoring employee work like I should have. It's all a learning experience, As the summer draws to an end I am working on gaining business accounts to keep the winter busy then as soon as March comes around I'm hoping to hire another person or 2 to train for the crazy 2016 summer.
The honest truth about me and where my business is now. I used to love detailing. Now, when I have to labor away all day I don't even enjoy it. I still love working on the classics, like the 71 Challenger we had last week. But the thing I love about the business now is spending the time learning new techniques, tools, and products. And also the joy of being an entrepreneur, growing a business, and managing employees.
 
VP Mark said:
To be the dominate provider of all high end detailing services for my entire market and periodically beyond.
Click to expand...
I like Mark's approach. It's simple and to the point and doesn't make any claims he can't at least try and back up.



FinishingTouchA said:
Update on the employees. This week I sat down with each of them individually for an hour and talked about what they like and dislike and how they feel about certain things. Also talked about their 1-5 year goals. Gave them each a $2 raise and told them we'd have these meetings more frequently, once a month. Told them what I expect in a month is to check their work and find nothing they missed (this is especially hard on interiors as my standard is good as new). I told them to hold me accountable for lots and lots more training. After just 2 days I'm seeing a huge improvement. Honestly I should have hired a third person last month to keep up with the workload, but instead I wanted to work on profiting and ended up working my a$$ off rather than spending time training and monitoring employee work like I should have. It's all a learning experience, As the summer draws to an end I am working on gaining business accounts to keep the winter busy then as soon as March comes around I'm hoping to hire another person or 2 to train for the crazy 2016 summer.
The honest truth about me and where my business is now. I used to love detailing. Now, when I have to labor away all day I don't even enjoy it. I still love working on the classics, like the 71 Challenger we had last week. But the thing I love about the business now is spending the time learning new techniques, tools, and products. And also the joy of being an entrepreneur, growing a business, and managing employees.
Click to expand...

Running a business and being a business owner is hard enough by itself I imagine. Being a boss is another thing altogether. I have always firmly believed, and I've been on great teams, that living by the Golden Rule is the gold standard. There's more to it than simply saying do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. It's much deeper than that. You have to live it.

I truly hope as least some of what I said is of benefit to you and that you continue seeing improvements not only in your life and business, but also in the lives you touch...

...because in the end...

...it's not the fame or fortune you leave behind...

it's about the memory and character of the man. That man has a name people will remember.
 
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