Mission Statement Vs. Business Continuity Plan

by Neil Kokemuller

A company's mission statement and business continuity plan are two very distinct, but related documents. The mission statement is a common starting point in strategic planning. It provides a purpose and framework for company operations. A business continuity plan outlines daily activities necessary to ensure the business meets its ongoing commitments to customers and other stakeholders. Both of these are valuable to small business owners.


The mission statement essentially is the statement of purpose for a company. It indicates the primary reason the company operates or the driver of business activities. For-profit companies often have mission statements emphasizing financial objectives or customers. A business continuity plan outlines the methods and steps the company takes on a daily basis to protect against unrecoverable occurrences, such as technology or infrastructure damage or poor customer service. It is different from a disaster plan, as it more of a proactive, ongoing system.


Ironically, the mission statement has a much broader scope in the long run, but it is also much shorter and less complex as a document. Companies' mission statements are often less than 100 words. In the big picture, though, everything the company does should tie back to its mission for being in business. The business continuity plan is critical, but it is one strategic tool out of several used to carry out the mission. As a document, it is often much lengthier and more complex than the mission because it must outline processes and tasks in many risk areas of the operation.

Directive vs. Protective

Another perspective is that a mission statement has a more positive, forward-looking intent. It communicates to employees, investors and other stakeholders what the business is looking to accomplish. A continuity plan has a more protective emphasis. You could say it helps ensure the company can continue on its mission. Ensuring the company has adequate server and storage back-ups to maintain necessary data and to keep customer-serving technology in place are examples of key continue needs. An online retailer, for instance, can't afford lengthy downtime on its website. It must therefore have a plan that addresses which employees are responsible for server or site issues, steps to resolution and alternatives for customers needing to make purchases or get help.


An effective, well-developed and well-communicated mission statement should impact decisions and activities for all employees at all levels in the organization. In theory, each employee should make a mental check when making a decision to see that it aligns with the company's mission. A continuity plan may or may not impact all employees. Often, much of it centers around leaders and information technology employees responsible for keeping the company's infrastructure up and running. Human resources and legal professionals are also sometimes included given the importance of people in driving a company's operations. However, many frontline employees may not even recognize that a company has a business continuity plan.

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