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I agree that mission statements are often a big fat waste of everyone's
time. But they can be helpful in setting priorities (assuming you get to
set your own priorities). If being fast is the most important thing, put
it in your mission statement. If integrating new technology is
important, put it in writing. If everybody agrees on what "job one" is
(I can hear it now... "Tracy, what color is the sky in your world?"),
and you make it part of your mission statement, it makes it a little
easier to resolve some conflicts ("We could get this doc out this week,
but our mission statement says we emphasize accuracy over speed, so
let's keep working on it").
But based on what I've learned, you shouldn't say something like this:
> _____ Inc. strives to achieve the following...
because "striving to achieve" something basically means nothing. It's
simply good intentions, and you know what road is paved with good
intentions.
Tracy
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Tracy Boyington tracy_boyington -at- okvotech -dot- org
Oklahoma Department of Vocational and Technical Education
Stillwater, OK, USA http://www.okvotech.org/cimc/home.htm
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