What Are We Here For?

As I work with different organizations, it has become clear that leaders more often than not, have not clarified their vision and mission. The old saying then, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there" becomes the way the organization practically operates. I'm not saying leaders do not have any articulated targets, just that they are so broad, it does not create the focus neccessary for acheivement. Another problem is that targets are assumed and not written down.



I believe that if you can't write down what you mean, it is because you don't know specifically enough what you mean.



If the targets are not clear, the organization will always poorly spend its precious resources by pursuing too many activities that do not help the organization produce the good that it is called to produce. The staff and volunteers in an organization generally do not ask questions about where is my work headed. They are activators of what is before them. The leaders --i.e., the board must do its job and make sure the organizaiton is pointed in the direction it should, and that it has communicated in writting what a win is.