I’m pretty much just re-upping this post, because it’s a good one.
Back in 2011, Bisnow published an article that included this quote:
When you ask most people about their jobs, they tell you what they do and how they do it, but not why. “Why you do what you do is what makes people lean in closer,” Mary [van de Wiel] says. For example, Duarte, a company which creates presentations for many high-profile speakers, describes itself on its website by saying, “We love whiteboards, sweet design, vegan cookies, bacon cheeseburgers, the afternoon regroup, and the 4 am idea. We believe in the power of a great story to move an audience and the power of an audience to change the world.” It does not say Duarte is the leading PowerPoint design firm in the world. Mary says: “You get a sense of who these people are, and you say, ‘Yes, I want to work with them.'”
In our 2015 whitepaper Leading Engagement from the Outside-In, one of the keys to engagement Anna Caraveli and I identified was Organize Around Shared Purpose.
Sadly, far too many association mission statements are something along the lines of:
The Widget Association, a nonprofit membership association founded in 1954, is the leading voice for the widget industry. We represent and advocate for 9,000 widget professionals worldwide. We advance the profession through education, networking, and advocacy.
That is BOOOOOO-RING.
Contrast that to one of our case studies, the Society of Hospital Medicine: Revolutionize Patient Care.
Short. Succinct. Inspiring.
(They’ve complicated it somewhat since then, I would argue NOT for the better.)
As I originally wrote in 2011:
What is your association’s mission statement? Does it truly reflect what you believe in? Would it make anyone excited about joining your cause? If not, what can you do to change it to more truly reflect what’s great about your organization?
I believe those questions are even more pressing, more important now, 13 years later.
Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash