Rebecca Leaman is the primary writer for Wild Apricot non-profit technology blog and team member at AssociationJam.org. She will be a contributing blogger for SmartBlog Insights.

Could you recite your mission statement, right this minute, from memory? If not, chances are, that mission statement isn’t serving your organization as the functional guide it was intended to be.

A mission statement may be carefully crafted with all the right information — your organization’s purpose and goals, its stakeholders and constituents, its programs and services — and updated from time to time to reflect new priorities. But even the best-conceived mission statement can’t be effective if it has no role outside the covers of your annual report.

Have you ever missed a turn-off on the highway because a road sign was too complex for you to read at high speed? If your mission statement isn’t clear and at the forefront of your mind, perhaps you need a different kind of road sign. Something simple. Concrete. Memorable. Not another formal “mission statement” but a brief declarative statement of your organization’s core mission — just a daily reminder of your route and destination:

“We [do this] for [these people].”

* Meals on Wheels supplies nutritious meals to shut-ins and seniors.
* The US Chamber of Commerce advocates for the interests of business.
* CrimeStoppers gives citizens a safe way to report criminal activity.
* Habitat for Humanity builds houses for families in need.
* Your organization…?

A simple concrete “statement of mission” can be remembered, repeated, and acted upon in day-to-day decision making. It gives staff and volunteers an easy way to explain your organization to others — useful in the fast-paced 140-character world of social media! — and it serves as a quick check that everyone’s moving in the same direction, allocating your organization’s time and resources to actively serve your fundamental goals:

* How does this activity help us to do this?
* Are we still actively serving these people?