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Article location:http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/140/do-something-wordplay.html December 1, 2009 Tags: Leadership, Magazine, Do Something, mission statements
11/5/2009
Microsoft came up with probably the most well-known BHAG, "A computer on every desk and in every home, all running Microsoft software." Amazon has a great one for its Kindle, too: "Every book ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds." Both statements do something crucial: They quantify the goal. Microsoft doesn't just want to sell software - it wants its software on every computer, in every home. Amazon doesn't just want you to buy a book; it wants to help you do so in under one minute. Most companies aren't so successful at laying out their goals (or, obviously, at execution). And in my experience, not-for-profits are especially awful at creating BHAGs with clear targets, preferring warm, fuzzy words that have all the gloss of inspiration and none of the soul and drive of the real thing. 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. Oh, and the mission statements above? Nos. 1 and 2 are Dilbert's. No. 3 is the mission statement of the United Way, and no. 4 belonged to Enron. Email Nancy Lublin, the CEO of Do Something, with your nominees for best and worst mission statement. Feedback: lublin@fastcompany.com [1]> Links: [1] mailto:lublin@fastcompany.com
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