There are many different versions of a Purpose Statement. Some call it, the mission statement, the WHY or the Go-To statement, but they all drive toward answering the same question though, “Why are we in business?” Now that you have defined your Purpose Statement, with the input and guidance from your cross functional teams, it is time to broadcast it.
By all means, allow the employees and teams that were involved in creating it help you to socialize it throughout the organization. This serves two purposes. One, your team is invested in this statement and will appreciate seeing it trumpeted to the rest of the organization and their work celebrated and two, the rest of your organization feels differently about edicts coming from top management than they do about edicts coming from their peers. The likelihood of success is much greater when it comes from both. You can’t be everywhere at once, especially in a large organization, so anoint your team as the ambassadors of the Purpose Statement.
So, let’s talk about way in which you can socialize this message. Is there a Company newsletter? Run the cover article covering the new Purpose Statement, explaining what it means to you and to the team that helped to design it. Make sure you publish their names and, if possible, their pictures. Everyone likes to see their name in print attached to a corporate initiative. Perhaps there are company-wide business meetings that occur monthly or quarterly. Have a banner printed up with your new Purpose Statement. Let it scroll down behind you as you announce the new direction. Allow each of the team members to come up and speak about what it means to them personally and how they think they will apply it to their daily lives at work. Giveaways, while a little corny, do work to keep the message in front of everyone. Mousepads, sports bottles, key chains are all inexpensive reminders of what you stand for.
Start to use the words and phrases that are incorporated into your Purpose Statement in your verbal and written communication. People repeat what they hear and read. Think about ways in which can act that will be physical manifestations. If your Purpose Statement talks about giving back, think about ways you can show you are giving back. Can you set up a charity for employees that run into financial trouble? A Lend a Hand Fund so to speak. Can you engage with a local charity and support back to school or Thanksgiving food drives? You will find that the more ways you can think of to deliver your message, the easier it will become for employees to understand it and live it.