For years, companies have attempted to exorcise the Narrative Void using the most sacred document available: the mission statement. The corporate mission statement is like the holy grail of organizational effectiveness. With monastic dedication, executives gather for off-site retreats where they etch painstaking phrases onto tablets few will ever read and even fewer will understand or apply. Talk about a story going nowhere. Needless to say, only in very rare cases has a mission statement actually led a company to be on a mission.
