What does it mean to write a mission statement? In business it seems we’re always tinkering with the notion that a stated purpose will make our daily existence better. Clarity will cure current problems. A common direction will keep everyone on the “right” path.

In the past couple months I’ve attempted to do just that—establish a statement that squarely places our focus on you, the readers. That has always been our goal, but somehow modifying past visions makes it valid. You see, it’s not just creating “a” mission statement; it has to be “the” mission statement. There’s the line urging us to “spark intellectual dialogue” and develop “thought-provoking, analytical discussion.” And there’s certainly the one identifying readers as “the backbone” of the publication. The statement isn’t yet where I want it to be, but if you’ve ever sat down in earnest to write such a statement you certainly have found yourself at a loss to explain the essence of your company. What you do daily is typically routine. Explaining “why” you do it isn’t so easy. Concisely and precisely identifying what you’re about and where you are headed is essential, but the process often leaves you grasping for words (even us journalists).

More important than the words are the actions—following up on the mission once it’s been etched in stone. It’s easy to say what you’re going to do, but much harder to turn those statements into facts.

In editing this issue it became apparent to me that, while the industry often gripes about laggards who fail to operate their businesses correctly, there are many out there who have a true vision for where they are headed. And they’ve turned that vision into a reality.

Take, for instance, the Baskervilles of Auto Hound Collision Center in Seattle (featured in one of our Shop Profiles beginning on page 24). It takes someone with foresight to use focus groups to hone programs that make the collision repair facility a place for more complete services. It requires staunch convictions to know that time is a valuable commodity. Charging a minor fee for writing up an estimate when the customer is merely shopping around for quotes is the right thing to do as a business person. It sends the message that professional services have a price. And most notably, it takes someone with vision to realize that offering a seminar on detailing won’t drive away customers for your own detailing operations…and even if it does, so what! “Some people can only afford to have their car detailed a couple times a year,” states CEO Wiesje Baskerville.

What’s refreshing about Baskerville’s comment is that most businesses would simply write these customers off. They’d wait for the one or two visits per year and consider that “good enough” for feeding the revenue stream. Something the Baskerville’s get which others don’t is that running a business is about relationship building. Drawing customers into your shop is the key to being a partner and a problem-solver. Then when they really need the help of a collision repair expert, they’ll turn to someone they know and trust.

If you’ve done your job and followed through on a well-crafted mission, that’ll be you.