Hulu and Mission Statements

All this talk lately about Hulu and their mission statement has got me thinking. I’ve concluded that I dislike mission statements, and here are my reasons.

1) Mission statements are too broad. Mission statements often try to encompass so many calls to action, that they miss the point. Let’s take a look at Hulu’s mission statement, although it hasn’t been named as official:

…to help you find and enjoy the world’s premier content when, where and how you want it.

This statement is broad enough to where anything you say can suggestively be twisted into fitting the mission statement. That alone renders the mission statement pointless.

2) Mission statements dictate direction. Before I’m flamed on this one, allow me to explain. I understand that the purpose of a mission statement is to tell the world what you do, and inspire employees to head in a certain direction. I disagree with this approach.

Much like a business plan, a mission statement is ever-evolving. It is, by definition, a self-fulfilling prophecy. When making decisions, people consider the mission statement and what the business is striving for. I’m not so sure I want a generalized, one sentence statement steering my business. I want my customers and their needs steering my business. My manager’s decisions should be based on the customer.

For these reasons, I suggest dropping the entire notion of a mission statement. Let your customers define your business, from both directional and descriptive standpoints. When your customer brags about your product to a friend, whatever they say describes what your company does, even if it’s not what you prefer.

Good luck to Hulu… they have an uphill battle ahead of them.