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sale Builders Supply, Inc., Dallas, Tx., is one company making sure their mission statement is a living, breathing document.

After hearing William H. Blades, William Blades & Associate s, Te m pe, Az., talk, they decided to re-energize and develop a corporate culture.

They were interested in training and coaching people to serve as partners with clients, Blades recalls.

To do this they included "will continuously delight our clients" in their mission statement. Because they wanted to develop value-added services for their clients, they asked Blades to meet with their customers to discuss sales, management and service ideas designed to help them to grow their businesses.

Blades desctibes corporate culture as "everyone going in the same direction with a united mission for every single client. No holdouts 1007o of the group must buy in. If an individual elects not to, the only thing worse than employee turnover is none when there should be."

The first step when a company seeks Blades' help to develop a mission statement is taking the executive group on a retreat to verbalize what they feel the organization stands for and, more importantly, what it will stand for in the futur€. He cautions this is no simple pmcess, but recommends that it be rccomplished quickly.

Standard items tbat he includes in erh mission statqnent arc:

What we are committed to and stand for with regards to our workforce and our clients.

Phrases or sentences stating the company's conviction ln regards to shareholders, vendors and tbe commmity.

When the statement is completed, Blades meets with middle management 0o discuss it. He advises thenr

What lf?

Sales are flat...

Margins are slipping... Turnover is high (or maybe too low)... Confl ics are increasing... Communications are detaiorating. Complaints are increasing.. The ship feels rudderless... Faces are long with smiles rare... Customers are not praising you... You know something is wrong, but not what... You feel more like a boss than a servant.

...Your group may need re-energizing. Everyone in the organization can be the best at what they do. Every executive can get bett€r. Every sales person can improve.

that the executive group has granted them freedom to modify the statement. Middle management rarely changes one word he notes, but it is concerned with whether or not top executives will live by the statement.

The mission scatement when ready to be made public is framed with a large copy hung in the lobby and smaller versions placed tiroughout the workplace. Ideally, it is summarized on company literature and business cards.

A mission statement does not function alone, Blades points out. Using it with an organizational chart position descriptions and standards of performance, management can provide high-quality one-on-one evaluations and coaching to give employees moe control over future income and self improvement.

An organization chart shows staff functions, titles, responsibility and sccountabiuty. Position descriptions spell out what is expected ftom each person, pointing them toward major responsibilities and eliminating misunderstandings. Blades recommends updating pooition desctiptions annually, adding functions considered weaknesses to "stretch" an individual. Standards of performance measure each item on the position description and can be used to detennine raises or bonuses.

A review lets a person not pulling his weight know help is available. What he must do to ensure tenure can be spelled out clearly with a deadline set for improvement. Using the tools discussed, management can be fair, fimr and specific about expoctations, Blades says.

With a mission statement in place, everyone lrrows what the organization stands for, what is expected from them and what method management uses to measure performance. Once sales, management and support groups are receiving targeted training and education, it is time for customized fine tuning to ensure everyone participates in the culture drive. Unless the workforce feels the op group is committed, the process will fail, Blades warns.

However, he adds, "Your people and your clients will thank you for your commitnent to a culnre calling for greahess from evetryone."

Story at a Glance

How to get everyone in your organazation doing his best for every single customer tips on developing a mission statement, establishing a commitment to a company and its customers, developing a corporate culture, educating employees.