Why are we here?
Mission statements don’t have to be dumb. In fact, they can be very valuable, if they articulate real targets.
Nancy Lublin describes How to Write a Mission Statement That Isn’t Dumb at Fast Company. The problem is that mission statements are often sentiments and not goals, they describe a state of being rather than a benchmark for achievement.
Here is my challenge: Write a mission statement with a goal that’s an action, not a sentiment; that is quantifiable, not nebulous. If you’re trying to sell a product, how and how many? If you’re trying to change lives, how and whose? Take your wonky mission statement and rip it to shreds. Then ponder your ambitions, and write and rewrite the thing until it reflects — in real, printable words and figures — the difference that you want to make.
A good mission statement should define a benchmark and a standard against which everything the organization does can be measured. One of the ways to measure the quality of the mission statement is by how well it serves to measure the productivity of the organization activities in terms of focus towards the reason the organization exists.
If your board or committee members do not know why they gather together for your organization, they are missing vital direction to focus their efforts.