Making use of this list of distinctive competencies as a base, members of our team next sought to identify a simple statement of mission for New England Standard. We found the following statement in several of the company’s early promotional materials: “People Helping People Achieve Their Dreams.” While this statement has a lovely feel about it, it doesn’t provide much direction for the organization. Similar to many mission statements, it is meant more for external consumption than for internal use by company stakeholders. We decided, therefore, to use this statement as a second level base, building on the statement of competencies as a first level, and identifying a third set of statements that flesh out this simple statement of mission.
We defined this third set of statements as the fundamental components of the mission and extracted these statements from several sources. We not only used the founder interviews and promotional materials, but also information from the employee meetings regarding organizational values and from current strategic plan documents of the company. Once again, members of our team sought to honor work already done in the company. We saw ourselves as synthesizers and organizers rather than as creators of new statements regarding the intentions of New England Standard. We were operating through a unique blend of Model One and Model Four Consultation. Members of our team identified four fundamental components, each related to a specific functional unit of the company:
Client Service: A full-service business. Long-term mentality striving to deliver the highest level of internal and external client service by exceeding expectations. It is no longer enough for New England Standard to be in the financial lending business. There are many other financial institutions that can lend money at a lower rate. The key to New England Standard’s success is the establishment of a long-term, high-trust relationship with its clients. [“We understand how to structure transactions to fit the customer’s objectives.” From: New England Standard Brochure 1992] [“New England Standard is dedicated to providing superior execution in terms of reliability, quality and innovation in insurance-based transactions of all sizes.” From New England Standard Brochure 2009]
Marketing: New England Standard and its products are market driven to maintain and broaden the client and service base, while maintaining a solid financial base and increasing market share.
Focus: Company focus is financial products and services provided to the small to medium-size corporate marketplace. [“New England Standard offers a wide variety of financial products and services specifically designed to help you manage your . . . finances more efficiently and profitably.” “We help you manage the risks associated with your business through provision of a wide range of insurance products and services.” From New England Standard Brochure 2009]
Excitement and Alignment: The New England Standard organization is thriving when any New England Standard employee can walk into a room full of other New England Standard employees and find them talking enthusiastically about the fundamental business (mission) of New England Standard and, in particular, talking about a New England Standard project that holds the potential of successfully moving New England Standard into the future
