Mission Possible

1. Mission Possible How Southwest Airlines and Microsoft can help you discover and fulfill your Pool’s true mission

2. Mission Possible • Outline • Your Mission Statement should... • Mission Vs. Vision • Example Mission Statements • Southwest Airlines • Microsoft • Next step(s)

3. Mission Possible • Your Mission Statement should… • Express your organization’s purpose in a way that inspires support and commitment; • Motivate those who are connected to the organization; • Be articulated in a way that is convincing and easy to grasp; • Be free of jargon; and • Be short enough so that anyone connected with the organization can recite it.

4. Mission Vs. Vision • Vision Statement • Captures the destination of your planning and implementation process, providing your constituencies with an inspiring glimpse of where you are trying to lead them. • Mission Statement • Outlines what must happen to realize the Vision of the organization.

5. Example Mission Statements • DILBERT • “A successful Mission Statement is defined as a long awkward sentence that demonstrates management's inability to think clearly”

6. Example Mission Statements • OMAG • “To promote the financial security of our customers by providing highly competitive insurance products and services designed specifically for them, in doing so, OMAG seeks to be the insurance provider of choice for Oklahoma municipalities”

7. Southwest Airlines • Mission Statement • “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit”

8. Southwest Airlines • Why has Southwest Airlines been successful? • Customer Service • Herb Kelleher “We’re not in the airline business, we’re in the customer-service business, and we just happen to provide air transportation” • Friendly, fun employee base • Innovation • Quick turn-around • On-time departure

9. Southwest Airlines • Why has Southwest Airlines been successful? • Innovation • First to provide E-ticket • Low cost, short-haul destinations • Entrepreneurial Spirit • “Nobody’s going to shoot Southwest Airlines out of the sky for a lousy $13” • Employee ownership

10. Microsoft • Mission Statement • “A computer on every desk and in every home”

11. Microsoft • Why has Microsoft been successful? • Innovation • Recognizing needs of the future • Willingness to change direction • Entrepreneurial Spirit • Rewards employees for new ideas • Join with other successful operations

12. Microsoft • Why has Microsoft been successful? • Customer Service • Support services • On-line • Phone support • Anticipating customer needs • New products • Enhancement of existing products

13. What can we learn? • Customer Service • Are we anticipating the needs of our customers? • Are we hiring the individuals that care about the service we provide? • Are we making it easy for members to do business with us?

14. What can we learn? • Entrepreneurial Spirit • Do we support new ideas or change? • Do we recognize, either through compensation or recognition, the efforts of our employees that go above and beyond the call of duty? • Have we looked at opportunities to form alliances with vendors or competitors?

15. What can we learn? • Innovation • Have we explored new products or services for our customers? • Are we taking advantage of technology enhancements or the internet? • Have we looked at all aspects of our business and thought about change?

16. Next Steps • If you don’t have a Mission Statement - Develop one! • Ensure it includes: • a “Purpose” statement; • Why does your organization exist? • a “Business” statement; and • What activity are we going to do to accomplish our purpose? • a “Values” statement • What are the basic beliefs that we share as an organization?

17. Next Steps • If you have a Mission Statement - Review it! • Consider the possibility of change • Achieve buy-in from stakeholders • Target the message to your constituents