Aim & Impact

Mission Statement Mini-Case.

Recently, my friends in the Office of Career Services at the Smith School of Business at Maryland asked me to do some strategy work with them.  The first thing we reviewed was their mission.

Here is the Mission exercise I take organizations through:

*AIM:  Specify exactly what “persons, places, or things” the organization aims to impact

*IMPACT:  Specify the difference your organization intends to make in the condition of those your organization is aiming for

We did this exercise in small groups at a retreat and they came up with lots of “Aims” – students, faculty, employers, alumni, staff, and more.  And they came up with lots of “Impacts” for the different “Aims.”  It provided a good start to work we then did with a sub-group.

I pushed: “What are your priority ‘Aims?’”  They pretty quickly identified students and employers.

“What are the most important ‘Impacts’ you want to make on each?”  We started with students and they came up with a long list of impacts they want to make.  “What’s most important?  What most inspires you?”  After lots of good discussion, here is what they came up with:

“To provide students with transformational experiences that launch extraordinary career journeys.”

I thought that was pretty cool – I want all of our students to be launched into an extraordinary career journey!

What about employers?  They were in a groove and came up with this pretty quickly:

“To partner with employers to infuse talent pipelines with exceptional Smith Terps.”

Another great one!  (FYI that we are the Maryland Terrapins, “Terps”).

These two statements now make up their mission.  One of the things to underscore about each of these statements is that it goes beyond helping a student find a job or helping an employer fill a job vacancy.  The group really dug deep to ask themselves what inspired them and identified far-reaching “impacts” that really enthused them.

Need to give your mission statement an overhaul?  Start with getting specific about your “Aim” and then on what “Impacts” really inspire you.  Focusing your team on Aim & Impact will, indeed, allow your organization to make an even greater Mission Impact.

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com   You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.

Strategy is “Like” a Theme Song

Can you hum the theme song for Hawaii Five-O?  How about Mission Impossible?  I bet you can and, if you can whistle, I’ll also bet that you can whistle the tune to The Andy Griffith Show.

Can the people in your organization explain your strategy as effortlessly as they can hum the  Hawaii Five-O theme song?  I suggest that should be your goal.  And when they explain it, you don’t want them to discuss the details of plans and goals for each quarter during the next three years.  Your goal should be much simpler than that – they should be able to explain your general “strategic themes.”

People in most organizations – in all sectors – cannot simply explain their strategy.  This was pointed out in an article in Harvard Business Review a couple years ago:

“Leaders of firms are mystified when what they thought was a beautifully crafted strategy is never implemented.  They assume that the initiatives described in the voluminous documentation that emerges from a strategic planning process will ensure success.  They fail to appreciate the necessity of having a simple, clear, succinct strategy statement that everyone can internalize and use as a guiding light for making difficult choices.”*

Your “strategic themes” should be distinctive and clear.  You develop them by first focusing on your vision and strategic goals for the coming years.  Then you look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  Your “strategic themes” are a general explanation of how you are going to Leverage your Strengths, Fortify your Weaknesses, Seize your Opportunities, and Block your Threats – as you pursue your goals and your vision.

Explain your “strategic themes” in such a clear way that everyone would recognize it as quickly as they would the Hawaii Five-O theme song.  And make it so distinctive that they could tell if someone suggests actions that are not consistent with the strategy.  You want them to be able to tell the difference between what your strategy is and is not as easily as they can tell the difference between the theme song to Mission Impossible and Hawaii Five-O.

Making sure that everyone understands your strategy will help create better coordinated action, consistent decision-making, and increased Mission Impact.

*“Can You Say What Your Strategy Is,”  Harvard Business Review, Collins & Rukstad, April 2008.  

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com   You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.