There once was a man from Nantucket, ….
Okay, sorry, forgive me please.
There once was a man from Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, who traveled around the country, by bus, by (someone else’s) car and by bicycle.
In 1984, he and his wife of one year, flipped a coin. Palm trees and sunshine won out over mountains and wide-open spaces.
As the years went by, he read many a good book. Gained a ton of knowledge, and even hand-crafted a personal vision/mission statement.
A 463-word vision/mission statement.
Until one day, while teaching to others the critical importance of a leader’s vision, he had a flash of brilliant insight.
The reason people don’t remember fancy, wordsmithed corporate vision/mission statements is due to one glaring reason.
With only a few glorious exceptions, they are way too fancy and way too long.
So he set out to do something about it.
And he labored and poured his heart and soul into it. He took a 463-word vision statement and made it shorter.
Much shorter.
He made it 461 words shorter. For real.
He made it two words.
