22 July
Service Institutions Need a Defined Mission
We have attained what we were trying to do.
First, the public-service institution needs a clear definition of its mission. What is it trying to do? Why does it exist? It needs to focus on objectives rather than on programs and projects. Programs and projects are means to an end. They should always be considered as temporary and, in fact, short-lived.
Second, the public-service institution needs a realistic statement of goals. It should say, “Our job is to assuage famine,” rather than, “Our job is to eliminate hunger.” It needs something that is genuinely attainable and therefore a commitment to a realistic goal, so that it can say eventually, “Our job is finished.” Most objectives can and should be phrased in optimal rather than in maximal terms. Then it is possible to say, “We have attained what we were trying to do.”
Third, failure to achieve objectives should be considered an indication that the objective is wrong or at least defined wrongly. If an objective has not been attained after repeated tries, one has to assume that it is the wrong one. Failure to attain objectives is a prima facie reason to question the validity of the objective—the exact opposite of what most public-service institutions believe.
7月22日
服务机构需要明确的使命
我们已经实现了自己试图实现的目标。
首先，公共服务机构需要清楚界定自身使命。它试图做什么？它为什么存在？它需要关注目标，而不是项目和计划。项目和计划只是实现目标的手段，因此始终应当被视为临时性的，实际上也应当是短期的。
第二，公共服务机构需要对目标作出符合现实的表述。它应当说：“我们的工作是缓解饥荒”，而不是“我们的工作是消除饥饿”。它需要设定真正能够实现的目标，并因此对现实可行的目标作出承诺，以便最终能够说：“我们的工作已经完成。”大多数目标都可以、也应该用“最优”而不是“最大”的方式来表述。这样，机构才有可能说：“我们已经实现了自己试图实现的目标。”
第三，未能实现目标，应当被视为目标本身有误，或者至少是目标界定有误的信号。如果经过反复努力仍然无法实现某个目标，就必须假定这个目标是不正确的。未能实现目标，本身就是质疑目标有效性的初步充分理由——而这与大多数公共服务机构的看法恰恰相反。
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