In our recent post, The Brand Roadmap, we used our own mission, vision, and position statements to help illustrate and give context to how each can work together to articulate your brand’s why (mission), how (vision), what, and whom (position).

We’re going to be super honest here: creating those for ourselves was much harder than crafting them for a client. 

It was a mix of intimidating introspection and striving for perfection. So what do we do in a time like this? We settle! Sometimes done is better than perfect. And we can always re-approach and re-shape these every few years to make sure they still ring true for us.

Thinking back, coming up with the mission statement was the hardest of the three. For well over two years, it felt impossible. There’s logic to that. It is because it had to come first. A mission is the genesis of your brand. It will provide direction for the entirety of the brand process to follow. 

So what we wanted to do with this post is document—right here for the whole world to see (and to help keep us accountable)—what those four short sentences that declare our mission really mean to us.

Develop leaders. Foster creativity. See around corners. Pass torches.

Pro Tip: Notice that each of those is an imperative sentence. Beginning each with a verb coaxes readers to use their powers of imagination and deductive reasoning. They give instruction to the reader. That’s a great formula to follow for mission statements. Because a mission is something you actively do. Something you go on. So make it actionable!

Develop leaders.

We are setting out to be a team made up of only leaders. This leaves no room for followers.

At Traction, we give our team members all the authority and autonomy they can handle. And when people get stuck, we jump in to help lead them. We lead each other.

We also set out to lead our clients squarely into the future.

Leaders concern themselves about what lies ahead, known or unknown. Because our goal is to take our clients into Brand New Territory.

Foster creativity.

We believe in promoting the growth and development of our creativity and the endeavors it leads us to.

Whether professional or personal, we see creativity as fundamental to living a meaningful life, solving complex problems, and making an impression on the world. Our culture and work environment are designed and intended to house and nurture creative thinking.

See around corners.

We always keep our eyes focused just beyond what’s next.

It is our job to see into the future, plan and be ready for it, and educate our clients on it. We prefer to live just ahead of the curve.

Pass torches.

We empower and grow each other by sharing knowledge and dishing out opportunity. 

If knowledge is power, then help make our team powerful. If opportunity is key to success, then help make one another successful.

That’s it. Those are our simplest and truest of statements. Four short sentences that embody exactly why Traction exists. They may have been nearly impossible to write, but they are easier to write than to realize. Now we’re on a mission to make that happen.

Are you on an impossible mission to make your brand crystal clear and relevant? Hit us up. We’d love to see how we can help.