10 Great Examples of Mission Statements You Can Use

If you’re looking for some inspiration to get you started on your own mission statement, here are a few of my favorites.

1. Southwest Airlines
“The mission of Southwest Airlines is a dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.”

What’s interesting about Southwest’s mission is the fact that they don’t say anything regarding getting from point A to B. Their focus is on the way they differentiate themselves from what is seen as a”commodity” experience. They also pay attention to their employees as well as what they call the “spirit of the company” rather than just the client experience.

2. Urban Outfitters
“A lifestyle retailer dedicated to inspiring customers through a unique combination of product, creativity, and cultural understanding. Founded in 1970 in a small space across the street from the University of Pennsylvania, Urban Outfitters now operates over 200 stores in the United States, Canada, and Europe, offering experiential retail environments and a well-curated mix of women’s, men’s, accessories and home product assortments.”

Urban Outfitters focuses on the experience that they deliver and the focus on what they do. Their mission drives what their stores look like and what their goal is: to inspire. They also nod to their heritage of starting small and growing.

3. REI
“At Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) we believe a life outdoors is a life well-lived. We believe that it’s in the wild, untamed, and natural places that we find our best selves, so our purpose is to awaken a lifelong love of the outdoors, for all.”

REI’s mission focuses mostly on what it wants to do for its customers, but hidden in the mission statement is a mission to preserve the environment as well. Their focus on “getting outside” is what creates a connection between them and their customers.

4. Starbucks
“To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

Starbucks extends its mission statement by highlighting its underlying principles. This essentially explains how they keep their consumers in mind, how they expand their business, and how they interact with staff. It is an extension of their goal statement. Their values are listed here.

5. Walgreens
“Walgreens’ mission is to be America’s most-loved pharmacy-led health, well-being, and beauty retailer. Its purpose is to champion everyone’s right to be happy and healthy.”

Walgreen’s mission really defines its goals: what they want to achieve and in what product categories they want to achieve it. They also bring in their broader purpose when they talk about “everyone’s right to be happy and healthy.”

6. Slack
“Make work-life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.”

While Slack’s mission statement is short, it implies a lot. “Work” doesn’t just mean their customer’s work, it means their own work at their company. Their mission statement serves them both internally and externally.

7. The Coca-Cola Company
“Refresh the world. Make a difference.”

Coca-Cola takes a slightly different approach with a statement of purpose and then a vision statement. Their purpose is essentially their mission statement and says a lot for being so short. They want to refresh people in both body and spirit while making a positive impact on the world. Their vision also implies their goal of serving the entire world’s population which hits on their corporate and shareholder goals.

8. Patagonia
“We’re in business to save our home planet.”

Another short mission statement that says so much more than you would think at first glance. First and foremost, Patagonia doesn’t say that they are a non-profit – they state that they’re a business. And, this implies that they need to be a strong, healthy business to meet its goal of saving the planet. Their mission applies to their employees, their customers, their products, and their activism.

9. charity: water
“charity: water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.”

The mission statement of charity: water is concise and to the point; it only states what it does and who it does it for. This suffices for the majority of non-profit mission statements.

10. Asana
“Asana’s mission is to help humanity thrive by enabling the world’s teams to work together effortlessly.”

Like other companies, Asana’s mission statement combines a message about what they do with a larger objective of improving the world at large. Yet they continue to make references to their intended audience and their aspirations to become a global corporation and thereby enhance the lives of their shareholders and employees.