Mission (Week 2, Chapter 2)

I almost laughed out loud as I read through Chapter 2 and specifically the section about mission.  It was defined by Collins and Porras as, "...defining the focus, indicating how it will provide value, and outlining its envisioned future."   Combining this with the Bezo's video on obsession over the customer it's very clear that any mission should be market/consumer focused.  If the company's mission is market/consumer focused, you will always be striving towards adding value to the market on a daily basis.

Mission in real life
My company was recently acquired and the idea of a clear and concise mission became very evident to me in this M&A.  During the past two years working for my company, I was always confused as to what our company's mission statement was.  The official mission statement on our intranet was a lengthy, run-on sentence that had the reader confused half-way through.  After trying to read and comprehend the mission several times, I finally gave in and just executed on my job tasks within my business unit.
This all changed on Day 1 with the new company, Thermo Fisher Scientific.  The moment I walked into the office, there was propaganda signage all over the office. We always had a fair amount of posters on the walls depicting customers using our products, but these new signs were different.  On all of the signs, the company's mission statement was clearly stated.  "We enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer."
For me, the beauty of this statement is in its simplicity.  This is a global company with 50,000+ employees on 6 continents, competing in all facets of the life sciences business, but they were able to create a customer-focused mission statement.  As an employee, I actually feel comforted that at the end of the day if I loose focus on what I'm grinding for, I can glance up at the wall and see it stated clearly in 12 simple words.