By Murdo

“To make people happy” is probably one of the best-known mission statements of any company anywhere in the world.

In just four words it perfectly captures what this particular company is all about. No prize for guessing this paragon of insight is the mission statement of the Walt Disney Corporation.

If you’ve ever been to a Disney theme park (I sneaked in by pretending to be a guide dog) you will appreciate as a fellow tourism and hospitality operator the awesome attention to detail that goes into making their theme parks run as smoothly as humanly possible. Every business process and interaction with the public has been thought through, tried and tested over the years to ensure maximum efficiency… from even before customers arrive at the entrances thanks to highway sign-posting, managed car parks and courtesy shuttle buses etc.

Now, no-one in the Highlands and Islands handles the volumes experienced daily by a Disney theme park, but this does not mean there aren’t lessons to be learnt.

The first must surely be to encapsulate in as few words as possible what it is your company actually does. What is your primary function and service?

The mission statement, however, must not be about your own motivations or drives; its focus is on the customer or end user and your company’s offering. We take it as read that the motive is to make money, the mission statement instead speaks to the means of that wealth creation and what it is the customer can expect. In other words, it is your solemn promise as a company.

The real magic, though, as amply demonstrated by Walt Disney is not simply in the making of the promise. It is in the delivery of that promise in an on-going and consistent manner.