Quoting Joost CEO Mike Volpi, CNNMoney.com writer Adam Lashinsky says concerning the mission statement of Joost, “We want to transform the way people entertain themselves.”
He goes on to contrast that statement with one that he elicited from Terry Semel, former Yahoo (YHOO) CEO, who responded with Yahoo's mission statement saying, "Well, the mission of the company is, Deliver great value to our consumers and, basically, value them."
Why this is so important is a mission statement in any business is vital to its success. The statement by Terry Semel above shows why Yahoo has struggled so much during the last several years. In the same interview, Semel also said that Yahoo would have to be really good at a lot of things.
The problem with that is it says basically nothing. Look at the mission statement he talks about. What type of statement says that we want to deliver great value to consumers. That is so vague as to be meaningless. Every business in the world 
can make the statement he made; and they do. That has nothing to do with why a company exists.
Now when you compare that to the mission statement made by Volpi, it's much more clear and precise - you know what it is Joost wants to accomplish.
Many marketers and business leaders ignore this to their ruin. If someone in a high-profile company doesn't get what is going on and what a company stands for, don't think that others in smaller businesses won't either.
The reason this is vital is that everything a company does should emerge from its mission statement or purpose. If you don't have a mission statement, you're basically saying you don't why you exist; that'll kill any business.
So with Joost, everything they create and devise will be based upon "transforming the way people entertain themselves." If something comes up that doesn't relate to that, the company will pass on it - it doesn't fit their purpose. When you take Semel's statement, there's no way that you can sift through it for guidance, as it means everything and nothing at the same time. It's not a purpose, it's a response to a purpose.
Sure the statement is true, but too general to be of value. It's not a foundation to make sure a company stays on the road they've mapped out before them, but the way any business should treat those they serve. The floundering of Yahoo and its lack of direction shows the fruit of such thoughts.
We need to know why we exist as a company. It has to be specific and simple; easy to understand. Joost at least has given itself a map to follow, while Yahoo still doesn't know what its identity is. Don't make the same mistake.
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