OK, let me expand upon that. Typical, corporate-speak, vanilla mission statements are stupid.
“Working to provide world-class service to our clients with respect and efficiency.” Yeah, that just drips with sincerity. Not only that, it really doesn’t say anything. That company may as well have just gone all Simpsons: “To provide outstanding service in the field of excellence.” It doesn’t mean anything.
Your clients/readers/customers are not stupid — they know a snow job when they see one. Instead of using worn-out corporate-speak, I suggest crafting a simple statement or slogan. This year, I overhauled my total thud of a “mission statement” and replaced it with something much better. I went from “Assisting writers in realizing their visions” to “Thoughts into words into the world …”
When my clients come to my website, they already know they’re looking for assistance with their writing (I’m an editor, after all), and what a good editor is supposed to do. I’d rather let my personality show through while giving assurance that I can guide a writer through the process of getting a book to market.
