Mission-Vision-Values

This morning I was working on my August edition of The Mission-Based Management Newsletter, which will cover the topic of Mission, Vision, Values. In looking up some good resources I came across a fascinating (to a mission-nerd like me) website called Missionstatement.com, which has collected hundreds of mission statements, not only for nonprofits, but for schools, corporations, government, and individuals. Interesting reading, at least for me.

At the Alliance for Nonprofit Management meeting, I had the pleasure of hearing and then talking briefly to Darian Rodriguez Heyman, who is the ED of the Craigslist Foundation. In his talk, Darian told us about a new foundation online presence and asked for input from the group. Over and over, he repeated the mantra that was guiding the Foundation in its development: "Less time searching, more time doing good."

I loved hearing such focus on a key idea. While that statement is not their mission, it is a guiding principle for a major product, and allows the staff and volunteers to say focused on the desired outcome.

This is a great example of developing a project mission, but more importantly, using that project-mission to help guide the process all the time, not just at the outset.