News: Saying More With Less - Inside Higher Ed - 1 views
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University of Rochester Provost Ralph W. Kuncl wanted something else in 2009 when he began the process of creating the first universitywide mission statement in Rochester's almost 160-year history. He wanted something creative that would stick in people's minds, that they would think about every day at work. What he ended up with in May after a long vetting process was a 10-word statement that he thinks encapsulates everything the university stands for: "Learn, Discover, Heal, Create — And Make the World Ever Better." It has its own t-shirt now.
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There are upsides and downsides to brevity. A short statement can be ubiquitous, which can help it become ingrained in the university's day-to-day action. It can be placed on t-shirts, stationery, and other university documents. But that brevity also makes specific goals, definitions, and means impossible, leaving room for interpretation, misunderstanding, and debate.
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I think the crucial part for any organization is whether employees and clients can identify -- whether in exact words or not -- what the mission of the organization is. "Here's why we exist...." -
I liked how they pointed to Johnson and Johnson having a longer mission statement, but also that every employee knows it and remembers it. This whole 'brevity' trend is interesting at the macro level. I recently discovered a whole conference (!!!) dedicated to it: the 140 character conference: http://140conf.com/ strange.