Mission
I was curious about people's thoughts about the company mission. For VC oriented startups that are looking to raise large amounts of capital, it seems like the mission statement becomes a marketing ploy to attract investors. But what about for indie startups? Without the pressure of chasing capital, does this enhance the idea of mission? I can say that for me, mission is critical to stay focused, encouraged and motivated, especially when the days get long and the going gets rough.
mission is a crappy word, too ambiguous, people confuse it with vision, some with strategy and no one knows clearly what they all mean. VCs want to know the end game, whom are you gonna sell this company to? This q answers everything, you have to know who has the interest but also the MONEY to make a VC happy. Once you can answer this q you have your vision/mission/strategy/whatever
I've read a few articles now about "the death of the mission statement". I disagree with those extreme views but a lot of those articles propose one or more "key questions". What turned me onto this concept is I heard about a company that, instead of a mission statement, had painted on their wall "what did we do today to improve the environment" (they make environmentally friendly pesticides" and the reason for the key question is it gets down to what they are trying to achieve and doesn't rule out innovating or pivoting to other areas that still answer the key question.
Long story short, I like the idea of 1-5 questions that get at the heart of what you are trying to achieve and it seems they are more effective at focusing you and your staff than a vague mission statement (IMO).
I should be clear though, I do not have a mission or key questions for my own startup...