Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Mission statements

[Kay Wilson Fisk (caseyjackets]

Sharon, thank you - this is very helpful!
Kay

-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Villines [mailto:sharon [at] sharonvillines.com] 
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2011 6:21 PM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Mission statements

On 20 Nov 2011, at 8:29 PM, Moz wrote:

> Someone said to me over the weekend that missions and values are 
> usually quite general and thus open to interpretation, what counts
is 
> the detailed description of how they will be applied.

And that is why they are often useless. The dynamic governance has
very clear definitions for vision, mission, and aim.

VISION: A good Vision is like a dream. It's inspiring. It's uplifting.
It's what keeps people moving when things are rough. The lofty
thoughts. This statement may never change for the life of the
organization.

MISSION: A Mission statement speaks to what the group wants to create.
What it hopes to do. What it wants to feel. The mission must
distinguish the organization from other organizations. Since cohousing
builds neighborhoods, what are the characteristics of a neighborhood
that you object to and how would your neighborhood be different? The
mission is reviewed every 2-5 years. 

AIM: Aims are objects or services that are provided and obtained. The
statement describing an aim needs to be specific in order to be
realized. It makes the non-tangible goals of the Vision and  Mission
tangible. A cohousing community needs to describe it the same way a
shoe manufacturer would describe the kind of shoe they were going to
produce. You need to be able to see it and feel it. Aims are reviewed
at least once a year.