Developing a guiding principle: 5 steps to a successful model

14. Sep 2026

A mission statement is far more than just a nice slogan on the wall. It’s the compass that guides your company and provides orientation for everyone involved. But how do you create such an effective mission statement? In this guide, we’ll show you how to develop an authentic and vibrant mission statement for your company […]

A mission statement is far more than just a nice slogan on the wall. It's the compass that guides your company and provides orientation for everyone involved. But how do you create such an effective mission statement? In this guide, we'll show you how to develop an authentic and vibrant mission statement for your company in five steps.

Step 1: The Current State Analysis – Where Are We?

Before looking to the future, it's crucial to understand the present. Take the time to analyze your current company culture, its strengths and weaknesses, and the expectations of your employees and customers. Talk to your teams, conduct surveys, or hold an internal workshop. Ask yourselves: What makes us unique? What values do we already live by, even if they aren't written down? The answers form the basis for everything that follows.

Step 2: Defining Our Values – What's Really Important to Us?

A strong mission statement is based on clear, lived values. This step is the heart of the process. Identify the values that are central to your company. Are they innovation, sustainability, customer focus, or team spirit? It's crucial that these values aren't just empty phrases, but are embraced by the entire organization. Narrow the list down to the three to five most important values that you define as guiding principles for your daily actions.

Step 3: Formulation – Finding Clear and Inspiring Sentences

Now it's about putting your vision, mission, and values into concise sentences. Remember: A good mission statement is easy to understand, memorable, and inspiring. Formulate your vision, which describes where your company is headed in the future. Your mission should clarify what you do, for whom you do it, and what value you create. Combine these elements to create a coherent mission statement. Use language that motivates, not just informs.

Step 4: Internal Communication – Anchoring the Mission Statement in the Team

A mission statement that no one knows is worthless. Once the wording is finalized, communication is crucial. Make the mission statement accessible to all employees. Integrate it into internal training sessions, employee reviews, and team meetings. Explain how the mission statement is lived out in everyday work and what significance it has for each individual. Ensure that it is perceived not as a top-down directive, but as a shared compass.

Step 5: Living the Mission Statement – From Theory to Practice

A mission statement is a living document. It must be actively lived to achieve its full impact. This means that the values and goals of the mission statement must be visible in decisions, processes, and daily behavior. Celebrate successes based on the mission statement and regularly review its relevance. A mission statement that is not lived quickly loses its credibility.

EFFICIENCY & GROWTH

The Kreissparkasse Herzogtum Lauenburg considers it important to take responsibility for the common good. As a strong partner, it acts on behalf of its customers, the economy and the region. The Kreissparkasse provides its customers with a comprehensive advisory service based on the Sparkassen financial concept, which is tailored to individual customer needs. Through its advisory services, the Kreissparkasse aims to enable customers to make their own financial decisions and supports them in choosing the right products to suit their personal life plans. Based on its guiding principle of thrift, the Kreissparkasse is also committed to resource-efficient and sustainable business practices. The stability of its economic structure, climate protection, the adaptation of social systems to demographic challenges and the review of lifestyles in view of dwindling resources are important areas of activity for Kreissparkasse Herzogtum Lauenburg.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Remelting and casting, rolling and slitting: With its 2,200 employees Aluminium Norf is the biggest aluminium rolling and casting facility in the world. This extraordinary working environment presents the most diverse challenges for employees and managers: The processing of the hot 32-ton aluminium ingots not only demands perfect precision and team work, but also exact know-how of all the different machines, processes and of course safety regulations. Furthermore environmental standards, quality and customer requirements and the company′s own values play an important role in the daily working routine. All the topics above are part of the Aluminium Norf Guiding Principles, which were visualized by the Dialog Picture Method.

The final visualization provides employees and managers with a bird′s-eye view on all the issues along the entire value chain: starting with the delivery of raw materials and factory supplies at the bottom left of the picture, followed by the production process in the center, the Dialog Picture tells the entire story up to the happy customer in the top right receiving perfect products in-time. A specific highlight of this project are the lovely details displayed in the entire picture. Hidden piggy banks, for example, symbolize oppurtunities for cost reduction through recycling. Moreover, realistic illustrations of vehicles, workwear and products guarantee a strong identification by the workforce, creating curiosity and motivation to understand the company′s Guiding Princinples and bring them to life in the daily work.

INTERCONNECTED INTO THE FUTURE

As a municipal infrastructure service provider, Westfalen Weser takes care of the provision of electricity, natural gas and water networks, which are constantly becoming faster, safer and more sustainable with increasing digitalization. Behind the success of the supply are efficiency and reliability, managed by a system of state-of-the-art network technology and competent employees.

In addition, Westfalen Weser is already working on innovative ideas for tomorrow's sustainable energy solutions in order to shape the energy transition together with municipalities and companies. ...