What is your mission statement? How many people in your organization have read it? Understand it? Remember it? BELIEVE IT? And, how many of those who remain after answering those questions have actually adopted it?
Management books universally extol the importance of a mission statement. I have both suffered through mission development exercises as a staff member and been hired to facilitate these sessions. The process goes something like this: a group of senior administrators lock themselves in a room for an extended period of time; they debate, compromise, and craft lofty prose until they finally unveil (white smoke from chimney) their UNIFYING DOCUMENT. Shortly thereafter, they proudly display their statements on websites, placards, and business cards, then sit back and wait for the wisdom to trickle down to the masses. Much to their surprise, little change occurs.
Via Martin Gysler