Understanding the mission, in contrast, is vital to every organization's success Dear Bob …In your recent column, “Legless Dog Syndrome,” you appear to promote mission statements. Say it ain’t so. Please?[ Also on InfoWorld, take heed on determining your workplace priorities in “Companies must understand their focus before setting their strategies” | Get sage IT career advice from Bob Lewis’ Advice Line newsletter. ] – Mission LinkDear ML …It ain’t so. My position on this is unchanged: Mission statements are, with few exceptions, worthless. What’s vital is understanding the mission — an entirely different story.The greater the clarity and unity among the executive team, the easier it is to gain this understanding because any of the executives will be able to explain the mission, in pretty much the same terms and in depth.The less clarity and unity, the more likely it is that middle managers and staff define the true mission while the company’s executives indulge themselves in “strategic hobbies” — exercises in pretend direction-setting that somehow never turn into actual organizational change. It’s fair to say that if the executive team lacks clarity and unity, having ineffectual strategic hobbies might be the best possible outcome. Otherwise, their lack of clarity and unity will result in independent and incompatible action, which can tear an organization apart.– BobThis story, “Mission statements are worthless,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Technology Industry