A mission statement (or value statement) “is bigger than and different from strategies, which are bigger than and different from plans and goals.” Fatal Illusions at 45. A mission statement tells a law department where it is going; strategies tell it how to get there; and plans and goals tell it how to implement and measure its strategies.
Not bad for distinguishing these slippery tools of law department management.
See my previous posts on mission statements: April 8, 2005 on their being impossible; Aug. 3, 2005 on making them part of daily behavior; Aug. 3, 2005 on mistakes made developing them; Aug. 3, 2005 on “alignment with clients;” Aug. 26, 2005 with an Orwellian satire; and Oct. 21, 2005 on three tests for their usability.