We’ve got a Mission and Value for That

5/20/13 We’ve got a Mission and Value for That

Like every other company, we have an app for our organization. Our customers can log-in quickly from a smart phone or tablet to access our app. Got a problem? Yeah, we’ve got an app for that. But what about when the problem is ethical or outside the normal scope of our everyday considerations? We may not have an app for that, but we do have an institutional mission, values, guiding principles, code of professional ethics, laws and regulations, etc. Our organization has decided corporately to adopt a core focus and the philosophy under which literally all of our activities should fall. When any one member of the community strays from the company mission or values, the whole organization could suffer greatly. Jim Collins in Good to Great talked about having the “right people on the bus.” 

To extend the analogy further, I would also make the case that everyone in the organization should know where the bus is going, their role on the bus and what the edges of the road look like that it is supposed to be driving on. So, if the bus begins to veer off the road or turn off on the wrong road, any number of people in the organization can raise an alarm and hold others accountable before the bus goes careening over a cliff. 

Our mission, values and guiding principles delineate the parameters for solving problems, innovating and planning for the future. Got a problem? Yeah, we’ve got a mission and value for that.

Here is the page for the Delta College Mission, Values, Guiding Principles and Vision. http://www.delta.edu/aboutdelta/missionvalues.aspx

Do you know what your company's mission, vision and values are? If you are applying for a job, do you know what that company cares about? If not, make sure you do.