Your Mission: Make People Want to Stay
August 2026
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Sir Isaac Newton 1643-1727
Last month we explored: “WOW, that sure is a great idea!” A few months before that, we pointed out that the greatest skill of leadership might be as simple as being “kind.” This month let’s focus on our customers/clients, where great ideas and kindness rightfully need to be. We’ll start by considering that we have two sets of customers. There are internal customers that come to work every day and make great ideas and kindness happen. Then there are the external customers who come to us for our products, services, great ideas and to experience our kindness. I once worked with a company that had two different sets of mission statements, one for the “internal guests” and one for the “external guests”. While it may have worked for them, I never quite figured out their reasoning.
I should point out that most mission statements are way too long. Next time you are in a large store, look around and see if they have their mission statement posted. I’ve done this and came across some incredibly long mission statements. A couple of times, I asked workers if they had ever read the company mission statement. Surprisingly a lot of them had read it. I then asked them what they could tell me about it, and they all knew it was long but had no memory of what it was telling them. From recent personal experience, I have noticed that hospitals have long mission statements.
So, in my view, an acceptable mission statement could be: “We exist to be a place where people enjoy working and want to do business” (i.e. shop, get health care, purchase gas, purchase lunch, etc.). Short, simple, to the point and memorable? I think so! With this you don’t need a different mission statement for internal and internal guests. This short statement, or one similar to it, fits all our needs. From this we can develop our operating systems, determining what tasks, training, inventory etc. will we need.
Now let’s get back to our customers and what can we do performance wise to successfully achieve our mission.
In doing so let’s consider why we lose customers (again internal and external). A U.S. News & World Report study that has apparently been around for many years tells us that “1% of clients pass away or die, 3% move away or relocate, 5% are influenced by a friend or seek alternative recommendations, 9% are lured away by the competition (often due to better prices), 14% leave because they are dissatisfied with the product or service…. (And here’s the big one) 68% quit because they perceive an attitude of indifference from the employees.” It seems to me that much of this may well be due to the example set by leadership. We fail ourselves by failing our team and consequently our customers or clients. It’s a negative domino effect that we certainly want to avoid.
Which brings us back to being kind! Show we care! We do this by looking at people when we are engaged with them. Stop looking over the shoulder at something or someone else. The person you are dealing with must believe that they are the only thing that matters. Smile at our guests. A smile is always disarming and comforting. Maybe we could do better? Talk to people, don’t just walk by and nod. One company that I know of has a policy that anytime a customer/team member is within six feet they have to say hello (smile and make eye contact.). Always thank your customers and team members. Show your appreciation; it doesn’t cost you anything. Sure, you’re on the way home to the family, but take a short moment to thank people. Finally, invite them back with a sincere, “See you tomorrow, have a great weekend, thanks for choosing us, etc.”
Now THERE are some ideas that may or may not be great, but I hope are worth your consideration! Make your mission statement understandable and deliverable, treat your guests with kindness, and don’t take any of your workers or customers for granted.
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." — Dalai Lama
"Great minds discuss great ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." — Eleanor Roosevelt
Michael M. Carney mr.mikecarney@gmail.com
A special thank you to my support team!
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