Every company, big or small, will die one day. It’s just a matter of time. When it’s all said and done, what will your employees and customers say about your business? Will they look back fondly or bitterly? Will they appreciate and value what your company did? How will they write your company’s obituary? How do you want your business to be remembered?
Asking these questions differs from the traditional approach of creating your company’s vision and mission statement. The latter reflects what your business will do. The former reflects how your company did it and how it made people feel.
Apple’s Obituary
As an example, let’s take a look at Apple’s current mission statement:
“Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world…leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store…reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.”
This mission conveys what Apple is doing and will be doing. It does not say how it’s doing it and how it will make people feel. If I were to write a short obituary for Apple, here’s what it would say about its heyday:
“Apple changed the course of human history by transforming our view of technology from dull and functional tools to beautiful and inspiring extensions of the human mind.”
My Coaching Business’ Obituary
I took a stab at creating the obituary for my coaching business to help me better understand how I want to create impact. Here it is:
“Eric’s coaching transformed leaders by infusing the inspiring energy of their values into their work. He helped business leaders create deeply personal meaning for themselves, their employees, and their customers.”
It’s not perfect. And it may change depending on how my business evolves. But creating this statement has helped me clarify how I intend to help my clients and how I want them to remember the work that we do together.
Your Company Obituary
I’d like to challenge you to create the obituary for your business. Take a moment and ask yourself: what will your employees and customers say about your company when it’s all said and done?
Once you’re finished, ask yourself these questions. Does that obituary inspire you? Will you look back at what your company did with pride and contentment? Is the obituary aligned with your values and beliefs?
If so, great! Keep this obituary close as a compass to stay the course.
If not, what would you like your obituary to say? Dream big. How can you instill your values into your company culture, brand, and products? What’s one significant change you can make to your business today?
Want to share your company obituary? Leave a comment below!
Photo by Kapil Dubey on Unsplash
