I have a confession to make. We just finalized our mission statement. As a values-driven, B Corp certified impact organization, it’s pretty embarrassing to admit that. It’s been on our “important things to do” list for over a year now (maybe longer? I’m too embarrassed to look that up). In our line of work, it’s one of those things we would NEVER advise a client (or friend!) to do, but inevitably, we don’t listen to our own advice. Perhaps that’s because we know just how important it is, and therefore we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get it right. Or maybe it just really is that hard, and is a good reminder to have some compassion for our clients and friends who put it off just like we do. All that to say, I am so proud of us for getting it done! And because it was such an impactful process for us to go through, I’m sharing that with you, along with some of our takeaways. Perhaps it will serve as inspiration for your own end of year reflecting and planning.First, why we felt the need to do it in the first place. Don’t get me wrong - we’ve always had a mission statement, or some version of one. In fact, we had about 5 different versions. That was the problem. We felt so clear in our hearts what we were up to in the world, but we couldn’t say it succinctly, and we weren’t 100% sure we were on the same page. There was a good reason for that. We’ve been through a lot of change as a company. When we started The Impact Collective back in 2020, there were four of us and we all entered into the business as a sort of experiment, thinking “well, let’s see if this works.” Thankfully, it worked! Three years later, there are two of us now (and I’m happy to say we are all on good terms) and our business looks much different. After many iterations and transitions, the mission statement(s) we came up with way back when no longer resonated or felt true to us. We knew it was time to revisit when neither myself nor Sarah could state what our mission statement was from memory - red flag!So, we put some in-person whiteboard and sticky note time on the calendar. We dug in, with a goal to answer a REALLY BIG but simple question, “Why do we exist?” We started by answering the following questions, with one rule - no wrong answers!- Why are we in business?
- What makes us different or unique?
- Who do we want to serve?
- Who are our current clients and what do they value most?
- What impact do we want to make?
We wrote as many answers as we could think of on those sticky notes and put them on the whiteboard. Then we talked through all of them, and kept asking “why?” For example, we stated that we are in business to help companies implement impact strategies. But why? So they are clear about how to use their unique skills and resources to make the most impact possible. But why? And so on and so on. Then we connected that to the value we provide our clients and what makes us unique. The conversations we had as a part of that process proved invaluable - like how we determined that what we care about most is HUMANS. And when we say humans, we mean the whole of humans - the good, the bad, the messy, the beautiful. And we care about the equally messy organizations they make up. And we really love our clients - they inspire us daily with the amazing work they are doing. We don’t ever want to pretend we know more than they do. We want to empower them to do more of the amazing work they are already doing. After lots of these types of conversations, we eventually landed on a mission statement we both love (and can recite from memory - green flag!)We empower whole humans and whole organizations to actualize their vision of a better world.Simple, powerful, true.
That was a couple months ago. And it has been such a joy to see that already being infused into our culture in surprising ways. I’ve noticed us using that language in our day to day conversations, with terms like “whole humans” and “vision of a better world” accurately describing what we’re trying to convey to whomever we’re talking to. More importantly, it’s also been helpful in our decision making. Is that potential client working towards their vision of a better world? Then do we want to work with them? Or in how we work with clients - are we empowering them to act on this particular strategy? And I see the impact in smaller, less obvious ways too - like how I’m standing just a little bit taller now that I have the clarity that comes with being grounded in our why.What’s your mission statement? Does it still ring true? Do you use it to guide your decisions?And lastly, we’re ending the year with so much gratitude for all of you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for following along. And thank you for the impactful work you do everyday. <3 
