Rod Grams: “a great many businesses, nonprofit organizations, and even Government agencies have created their own mission…”

“a great many businesses, nonprofit organizations, and even Government agencies have created their own mission statements. Far from simply being slogans, mission statements can serve as a guiding force, setting out specific goals, principles, and objectives. When I was elected to the Senate, I drafted a mission statement for my office which outlines the priorities of the Minnesotans I was sent here to represent, and offers a yardstick we can use to measure how well we are meeting their needs. It works--a mission statement brings the mission into focus. But what happens when a massive Federal agency, entrusted with billions of taxpayer dollars, is forced to operate without a definable mission? How can it remain accountable to the taxpayers when its mission is constantly shifting and evolving? Without a well-defined mission to contain it, a bureaucracy can grow in one of two ways. It can spread as quickly as fire on a lake of gasoline, rapidly consuming every inch of available space. Or it might expand slowly, like water dripping into a bucket, gradually growing in volume until it finally spills over its borders. Either way, the results can be disastrous. Metaphors aside, if you need a concrete example that illustrates the kind of bureaucracy I'm describing, you need look no further than the Department of Energy.”