AS SUCCINCT as haiku, the four stanzas are titled "Our Mission." Sixty words that seek to define the soul of a home medical equipment company.

To honor God in all we do, using only honest and ethical business practices

Five years ago, the thoughts came tumbling out. Six employees sat together, trying to put into words what North Coast Home Care, Tillamook, Ore., should be. Each left the room that day with a mandate to return in seven days with a proposed mission statement to guide the home oxygen and medical equipment provider.

"From that point, we started to boil it down," says Larry Slawson, owner of the 15-year-old company. "I guess I took the liberty of making the last decision and put it into these words, but the major points we discussed at length."

To serve our customers with respect and concern, welcoming all suggestions for improving our service

The mission statement is everywhere, yet in the background. It hangs framed by the customer service desks at the Tillamook store and a second location that opened in July in Seaside, Ore. It is tucked away on the firm's relatively primitive Web site (www.tillamookcounty.or.mytownnet.com/content/NCHC), a footnote on a site that's little more than a black-and-white Internet calling card.

The modest verse is printed on the back of educational folders that are given to patients, but the words are never purposely pointed out, Slawson says. "Having a mission statement instills in people that you're an honest company," he says. "It lets them feel confident that we intend to treat them fairly and are open to their input. But we don't brag about it."

To provide quality service in a professional manner, employing only competent and dedicated people

The mission statement is also a litmus test that helps gauge whether a potential employee will fit in with the dozen or so on staff. One of the first things Slawson does during an interview is hand the applicant a copy of the words that were so carefully pulled together.

"I ask them to read it because I'm interested in their reaction," he says. "Some kind of grunt, and some say, 'Oh, that's great.' The reaction gives me a feel as to whether they'll buy into our philosophy. I stress that it's extremely important that anyone I hire be willing to buy into that."

To be the provider of choice for home medical equipment and supplies in our coastal service area

The words haven't failed North Coast Home Care-and they haven't needed polishing since the day they became official five years ago. "I think it still says what we want to communicate," Slawson says.

It's no surprise that Slawson is a soft-spoken man who'd rather be called the owner of a company than its president because "it doesn't sound so lofty." After all, this is a man who knows the quiet power of 60 well-chosen words. HC