Comments on: Social Media Just Killed Your Non-Profit’s Mission Statement (and that’s a good thing)

By: johnscotthaydon

johnscotthaydon — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:34:03 +0000

@Frank – Thanks for pointing out the The Lance Armstrong Foundation!

By: frank

frank — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:31:17 +0000

If the people who work, support and volunteer for the nonprofit don’t have the mission in their heart and a desire to make a difference (based on that mission) then a mission statement is useless. By default all nonprofits have to have a great mission and purpose … so the mission statement should easily flow from that (it’s a living mission) – simple if you ask me. It’s when we try to make it all complicated and ‘deep’ that it turns into a useless piece of paper.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is a great example of a living mission and an organization that really engages the hearts of its staff, volunteers and supporters!

–
http://twitter.com/franswaa

By: johnscotthaydon

johnscotthaydon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:31:06 +0000

@KyNam – Great point – “living instrument” says that’s it’s based on conversation (social media) and serves as a guide.

By: KyNam Doan

KyNam Doan — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:25:27 +0000

Well couched and good perspective. However, I would have to agree with Andres in that the mission statement still has value only if executed correctly – truly resonate within and without and this does require it to be a “living instrument” and so must necessarily have a built in process for evolution

By: johnscotthaydon

johnscotthaydon — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:19:34 +0000

@Andres – You’re very welcome. It looks like we both agree that mission statements need to be a living instrument in order to facilitate lasting change.

By: Andres Vivas

Andres Vivas — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:04:07 +0000

John,
Thanks a lot for commenting in my post about mission statements.

Your concept is very interesting and I had never thought about it from that perspective.

I still believe there is a space and a reason for Mission Statements, even in non-profit organizations.

As I mentioned in my blog, the Mission Statement should guide the employees in every action they take. It should guide management’s decisions. It should also dictate what NOT to do.

The problem is, most organizations focus only on coming up with a decent MS, instead of “living it”. If your staff just ignores the MS then there is no point in having one. If your staff uses it as a guideline then it is working. I believe that both mission and vision statements are tools, and they should be used correctly, like any other tool.

Thanks again for your perspective.

Andres
Andres Vivas’ post about Mission Statements: Is your Mission Statement Worthless?

By: bob ashley

bob ashley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:29:34 +0000

Thanks Michael! I guess that phrase just kinda, well, you know, like…it just slipped out.

Or, the mission statement as concept is also kinda like an old snapshot, discolored, fading away.

I think the notion of the mission still works excellently in the sphere of the military. But that’s command-and-control stuff, and we sm-types favor a decentralized, cloud-like, approach. We don’t “attack” problems, our communities “swaddle” them.

bob

By: Michael Martine - Remarkablogger

Michael Martine - Remarkablogger — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:54:25 +0000

I think Bob gets an award just for the phrase “hue of flatulence”.

By: johnscotthaydon

johnscotthaydon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:58:07 +0000

Bob – Damn – Michael sure knows some smart people!
“…we should retire the Mission Statement”
Mission statements are essentially dead precisely because conversations are alive. Mission statements are very one-way, very Web 1.0.

By: bob ashley

bob ashley — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:50:02 +0000

Just tweeted to @remarkablogger who linked to your article that I think we should retire the Mission Statement. It’s such a threadbare throwback to western culture’s relentless history of missionary zeal. Embedded in the term’s etymology is the quest for religious salvation.

I think you’ve got the chronology of the Mission Statement’s sad pathology right on! Once the fervor is digested, the sound of the typical mission statement takes on a stale tone and hue of flatulence.

We can do better. Such as simply and always bringing one’s best to the project, to the task at hand, always driving from core values, consistent principles, and positive exuberance in action to do better.

If we must persist with the MS, Committees ought to pick the best and most creative poet in the room and delegate the task. Proof positive is the inescapable fact that the best writing is also offspring of individuals. God forbid Hamlet had been written by the Elizabethan Drama Committee! Can you beat Hamlet’s:

“The play’s the thing/ wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king!”

bob