Measuring Mission

John J. Ayoub
Administrator and CEO, Melissa Memorial Hospital, Holyoke, CO

We don't do anything here unless it relates to our mission statement, and if we can't have a line of sight between what we're doing and what we say we should be doing, we don't do it. You have to institutionalize it and you have to practice what you preach. If you have one but not the other you are going to fail quickly.
Everything we do, whether it's a board meeting or a managers meeting or an employee forum, if it has an agenda, it starts with the mission. This is who we are. This is what we believe. This is why we exist. Then we tie everything else back to it. You can institutionalize it, but if you just give it lip service it will fall apart.

The other thing is we require every new employee to meet with the CEO, and I tell them it is important for our organization. It's not just that we talk the talk, but we walk the walk, as well. And it becomes clear to them that if they want to be successful here, this is something they need to get behind because it is important to this organization.