All-purpose company description
Over the years, I’ve personally written over 30 mission and vision statements for clients throughout Europe. As internal documents, these are incredibly important. We (management and I) invest a lot of energy in defining the business position and the strategy that will help achieve this. But, to be honest (and despite the current fashion), these mission/vision documents don’t really stand up very well when companies broadcast them on a website. An internal tool is just that – internal.
Vision statements are particularly dangerous. Like watching two people make out in a darkened cinema, the better the content, the more distasteful it is to an outside observer:
“We’re going to be number one in our market by…[action item].”
The more effective the action item, the less likely it is that you’ll want to broadcast this information to your competition.
“Don’t write naughty words on walls if you can’t spell”
The “boilerplate” text printed on the rear cover of a brochure, or the front of a website is equally political. Enthusiastic sales reps and other unskilled laborers think that adding useless adjectives and overworked buzzwords will improve the message.
I just looked through some of the strategic mission/vision stuff I’ve written the past 10 years or so. Curiously, the text that was screwed around with the least, often belongs to the companies that have done the best.
As a public service, I have glued together some of the blather and buzz I’ve witnessed into a single, universal boilerplate.
About [the company]
Headquartered in [someplace], we are leaders in [something]. Since [sometime], our client-centric core competencies have represented the highest standards of quality and reliability, coupled with service that truly delights. We align our customers’ needs with current best-practice usage paradigms and thus enable people to seamlessly leverage their abilities and maximize their efficiency in a truly proactive manner. Our ongoing commitment to sustainable innovation ensures that we will remain the preferred supplier for our clients around the [world, region, country, neighborhood, wherever].
Use it with my blessing. It’s free and could save you thousands of euros in short term copywriting fees. But hey, no one reads this anyway…or do they?
Source: Old site feed