There are generally three kinds of mission statement. The plain mission statement which comes out and tells you what the company does, as if you'd never heard

There are generally three kinds of mission statement. The plain mission statement which comes out and tells you what the company does, as if you'd never heard of them before. This is best typified by the Five Guys fast food chain's mission statement: "We are in the business of selling burgers." However, most companies will at least throw an adjective in there. I honestly like Blizzard's: "Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiences... ever." Then there's the framing mission statement, like Google's, which tries to put a context around the plain work they do. Another example is Starbucks, who claims a mission to "inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time." These are the ones that try to be aspirational. Finally, there are the ones that seem to have been written by lawyers or legislators. These drone on endlessly are so awful they demean the dignity of the companies that have them, so I won't finger anyone to protect the guilty. However, you know for sure you're reading one about the time you halfway through and find the word "stakeholder."