Mission

Warren Burger in Fast Company's Co.DESIGN writes about how organizations should answer five "mission questions" rather than start by crafting the typical mission statement. (See also http://www.william-garrity.com/blog/tag/strategy for a discussion of the difference between "strategy" and "tactics.")

Forget The Mission Statement. What’s Your Mission Question?

WRITTEN BY: Warren Berger

WARREN BERGER TAPS SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL CEOS IN THE COUNTRY TO REVEAL THE QUESTIONS THAT WILL KEEP ANY COMPANY ON TRACK.

In a previous article, I shared five questions that today’s forward-thinking companies should be asking, based on input from top business consultants. This second installment, on the same theme, presents five more questions--but with a specific focus this time. These are questions that zero in on the mission and higher purpose of a company. Think of them as "mission questions." 

Most companies, of course, articulate their missions by way of formal "statements." But often they’re banal pronouncements (We save people money so they can live better. --WalMart) or debatable assertions (Yahoo! is the premier digital media company) that don’t offer much help in trying to gauge whether a company is actually living up to a larger goal or purpose. 

Questions, on the other hand, can provide a reality check on whether or not a business is staying true to what it stands for and aims to achieve. So herewith, derived from interviews for my forthcoming book, A More Beautiful Question, are thoughts from a couple of top CEOs (Panera Bread’s Ron Shaich and Patagonia’s Casey Sheahan) and a trio of leading business thinkers/consultants (the Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen, Peer Insight’s Tim Ogilvie, and SY Partners’ Keith Yamashita). The following five “mission questions” are designed to keep a business focused on what matters most.

1. Why are we here in the first place? 
2. What does the world need most that we are uniquely able to provide? 
3. What are we willing to sacrifice? 
4. What matters more than money? [Not-for-profits might put it, What are we trying to achieve and how will we get there in the long run?] 
5. Are we all on this mission together? 

See the link for explanations and, most helpful, examples. 

Strategy and Tactics: What's the Difference?

Confused or at least unclear about the difference between "strategy" and "tactics"?

This piece by Jeremiah Owyang includes a good, succinct chart illustrating differences in purpose, roles, accountability, scope ("Strategy is often what you don't do"), duration, methods, and outputs. 

The Difference between Strategy and Tactics 

Posted on January 14th, 2013 

The purpose of this post is to clearly delineate the distinct differences between strategy and tactics, and show how they work in tandem for your organization. 

Often, we use the terms strategy and tactics interchangeably and in a haphazard manner.  When probing at online definitions and dictionaries, they often share many of the same characteristics, making them difficult to differentiate.  Rather than debate Greek military etymology, Sun Tzu philosophy, or latest publications from the Harvard Business Press, here’s a simple way to look at strategy and tactics by their associated actions:

See the link for full story.