Effective Planning post #4 and an introduction to the 5 Whys Technique
You have gathered the team- staff and board- around the table. It’s time to brainstorm the list of new programs or consider a new partnership. But wait! Before you hop over to the ‘real work’ of setting goals and unpacking the steps in a new initiative, take a minute to ask yourself and your leadership team a few questions about your mission statement.
First: does your mission statement clearly state why your organization exists?
You’d be surprised how often mission statements become muddled. Over time, they can evolve to look more like tag lines. Or worse, they can grow so long they become a morass of meaningless phrases that no one can remember.
Second: can you use your mission statement to evaluate what is on and off-mission?
Is it specific enough to help you focus on an issue or population? Can it help you decide if your footprint is hyper-local or global? Does it point you toward policies or practices that your organization should support or advocate for change? If not, then now is a good time to address it.
Third: does your mission statment tell you what success looks like?
What is the change your organization is working to see in the world? A fairer justice system? Universal access to work regardless of disability? Zero hunger? If your mission statement doesn’t include the end-state, it’s not doing its job. How else will you know whether your programs are truly providing the desired outcomes vs meaningless outputs? More crucially, how can you decided which programs and services should be expanded or eliminated?
Without clarity, these decisions can become beauty contests or worse. In some organizations programs will be continued because donors ‘like’ them, regardless of whether they are contributing to attaining the mission. This is a tremendously wasteful error, not only in terms of actual dollars misallocated but also lost opportunities to provide services that DO provide real benefits.
The 5 Whys
If your mission statement seems off the mark, explore it at your next staff or board meeting. One technique I like to use is “5 Whys”. Start with the question “why does our organization exist?” When the first answer emerges, ask again, “Why?” Repeat at least one to two more times. You will be closer to uncovering the actual mission and purpose of your organization than you were before.
Using your mission statement to describe the ‘end’ your organization is seeking helps everyone gain clarity about programming and the outcomes- the real successes-you are trying to achieve. It can drive your fundraising case statement and engage your board members in the real purpose of your organization. Use it as the compass for your planning, not the afterthought it often becomes.