Does your team have a Mission Statement? Do all your team members know it? Do you set goals that support the mission statement?
I know a lot of teams strive to be self-sustaining, and as such, somewhat “corporate,” and I think this is generally a good idea.
But “Mission Statements” are just a wee-bit corny if you ask me 
[quote=“phrontist”]
I know a lot of teams strive to be self-sustaining, and as such, somewhat “corporate,” and I think this is generally a good idea.
But “Mission Statements” are just a wee-bit corny if you ask me
*(http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/career/bin/ms2.cgi) 
*
Maybe corny, but if your team hopes to raise any money for sponsorship by writing a grant proposal, you are probably going to need a mission statement. Corporations want to know. It’s like coming up with the answers for the Yearbook page on the TIMS, or filling out the Executive Summary for the Chairman’s award. The more of these questions you can answer, the easier it will be to figure out what your team is about. Once you have them figured out, you can use them over and over again, for sponsorship, for public relations. For most teams, this is the really UNFUN part of FIRST, and if you’ve got mentors or students working on this, you owe them a big thanks. 
It took our team many meetings during the summer to come up with a mission statement (and we’ve got a really simple one), a contract, a business plan. Unless you’ve got a HUGE sponsor, this is all part of what FIRST is about.[/quote]
“The Xerox/Wilson FIRST partnership in support of the FIRST mission to inspire today’s youth without regard to race, sex, or national origin, and create a demand among them to excel in technology. We are a “back to back” team. The inspiration of the student participants on our team is our number one priority. We are building interested, intelligent, members of society who get involved and participate. We are building people as much as robot. We will actively recruit students who need and want support in planning for their futures. We will strive to have the team of adults and students reflect the ethnic and gender diversity within Xerox and the Rochester City School District.”
We have one because of trying to get grants… also companies seem to like knowing that we have one.
The mission of the F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics team at Philomath High School is to further the ideas of the FIRST organization. Specifically, we strive to create awareness and excitement for science and technology within our school and community.
We also have a vision statement that we created for a grant…
The vision of our team is to plan and host robotics events that are both fun and intellectually stimulating to further involve the community and school in science and technology. We provide motivation and support for students within our club in the areas of engineering, math, and science. Furthermore, we encourage, motivate, and provide support for students with many diverse interests including graphic arts, marketing, and business.
ThunderChickens: Engineering New Ways to Cross The Road
Ok, that’s more of a motto than a mission statement, but I can change it really easy into:
The mission of the ThunderChickens Robotics Organization is to engineer new and innovative ways to establish a transition from one side of the road of thinking “inside the box” to the other side of the road, being “free modern thinking,” thereby introducing an exciting new paradigm of science and technology into the world of high school students.
Yeah, basically says the same thing.
Get a robot done by week 6, do better than last.
“Our goal is to provide High School Students with the opportunity to learn from Mentors in the field of engineering. To expose them to a real life atmosphere with a hands on engineering project. To meet the challenge of the thought process from beginning to completion. Enter friendly competition with the desire to do well and overcome any obstacle encountered, and deal with it throught what they have learned. And in the spirit of FIRST, have FUN doing it!”
That was made years ago, and I don’t know if anyone knows it. In fact, I don’t think it really tells all there is to Team Lightning anymore - I’m glad I looked it up - we should change to fit our current team. When I talk about the team, I almost always say that the mentors are learning as much or more than the students - how to have fun, how to enjoy engineering, etc…
I think a mission statement is great for any organization. Yes, they can be a bit corny at times, but only if you let them. Stay to real ideas and not abstract thinking.
You might be able to find a business in the area that would help you with the process. Go to team websites and see if any are posted.
A Mission statement should be reviewed regularly, but not radically change year to year. Mission Statements and Vision Statements are often used interchangably, but they are not really the same. A vision statement is usually more abstract and could be something like “Our vision is to be the world class leader in XTZ technology”. Goal setting is different.
I am a big proponent of Goal Setting. Goals should be new each year, and maybe repeats of the previous year. Goals should be specific and measurable to be of real value:
Goal: We want to do better this season and win stuff and recruit more students.
Better Goals:
We will strive to win one technical award at a regional.
We will incorporate one new feature on our robot.
We will increase our team size by 10% over 2004.
check out www.sound-business-preactices.com
[quote=“phrontist”]
I know a lot of teams strive to be self-sustaining, and as such, somewhat “corporate,” and I think this is generally a good idea.
But “Mission Statements” are just a wee-bit corny if you ask me
*(http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/career/bin/ms2.cgi)
*
I also believe that mission statements are good for a team and for the corporations teams wish to reach.
This is the one I wrote for my high school team. It may sound corny, but I believed in what I wrote then and I still do now. In retrospect it may be a bit long, but it accurately describes who we are and what we try to do.
"The Mechatronic Maniacs infuses into each and every member an eternal flame. With this flame, each and every Mechatronic Maniac is forever reminded of their passion for one of the most fundamental aspects of life: learning. Learning is a lifelong process that transpires everyday and ceases only when you do. The Mechatronic Maniacs is a team that celebrates this never-ending journey of exploration. We create interest in Mathematics, Science, and Technology in students and adults, alike, because learning has no age limitations. We help solidify the lessons from the classroom by providing students with the ability to explore, test, and use the theories and principals they have learned. We help students develop an appreciation for Science, Mathematics, and Technology. We work to instill ethics, responsibility, and skills into students, skills that they may use to aid them through the odyssey that is life and skills that, one day, they may use in their occupations in the not so distant future.
The Mechatronic Maniacs also reinforces the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Our success depends on the strength of the team, not the individual. We are a family of friends where trust reigns supreme. We face and transcend each hurdle together. We learn and grow as a group as we work to build a robot that mirrors the development within us. We learn from one another and we teach one another because learning necessitates an active role as well as a passive role. As a team, we provide each other, and the community, with support because someone, somewhere, has supported us at one time. Together, the Mechatronic Maniacs work to create not just a robot, we work to create a brighter tomorrow."[/quote]
I think I will add Mission Statement and Goal-setting to our growing To-Do list!
For many years while employed at UTC I was required annually to set SMART goals for the coming year - Specific, Measurable, Attainable and Realistic goal with a specific Timeline. It’s good practice for us to do the same since many companies require similar goal-setting of their employees.
Team Motto
T.R.I.B.E.
-
T
aking Robotics Into Bold Experiences
Mission Statement
The Siemon Company - Watertown High School F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) partnership supports the F.I.R.S.T. mission to inspire today’s youth to excel in technology and teamwork. The inspiration of students on our team is our number one priority. We strive to have the team of adults and students reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity within the Watertown community. Watertown F.I.R.S.T. Robot Inc. is a non-profit organization. The Sie-H2O-Bot F.I.R.S.T. team is organized as a business and provides opportunities and mentoring for students to gain hands-on experience in the various aspects of a functioning manufacturing company. The team is also committed to enhancing the technology department at Watertown High School and to graduating individuals who will make a difference in their communities.
Ummm… That seems a bit much almost. Here is the closest thing to our mission statement:
We strive to have fun and learn at the same time.
And that seems to work out pretty good.
The students on our team recently devised a 2004-2005 business plan.
Mission Statement:
To develop a sustainable, year-round FIRST team that brings together a diverse body of students, parents, and mentors for a fun and inspirational learning experience in engineering and teamwork.
It’s short, sweet, and to the point. If you guys want to see our entire business plan, I’d be happy to post it online.
The 2004 Mission Statement.
“Team 007-Parkville Robotics provides an opportunity for area high school students to get hands on experience in the world of design, engineering and technology played out in the spirit of sports throught the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Our team also promotes the learning of skills such as initiative, leadership, teamwork, collaboration, public speaking, writing and fundraising. Our membership is open to any student who is willing to learn and work hard.”
We also have a detailed contract and system of qualification to earn the right to stay on the team and travel.
Yes, if you could post your entire business plan, that would be great. Our team is working on establishing ourselves as a non-profit 501©3 organization, so that would help us a lot!
MARS had a small group of students write our mission statement, which was accepted after team review & vote. This procedure helped inform everyone & all felt a part of its creation.
“Our mission is to develop a cohesive, inspired team that uses wit, ingenuity and applied science to reach for MARS (Mega Awesome Robotic Systems). We plan to interest as many people as possible in going along for the ride!”
Our short & long term goals are spelled out in our 2008 Business Plan, [here](http://marsbot.org/upload/files/MARS Business Plan Final.doc). We created the plan for the first time this year to help the team transition through a lot of challenges it faces (we learned that our one teacher was leaving the team, our workspace will be unavailable next year, etc.) One mom with a business/CPA background helped put this together. It has been very useful for us.
Good luck writing yours!
Community Name:
Huntington County 4-H Robotics
FIRST Name:
Team T.H.R.U.S.T. 1501
Thundering Herd of Robots Using Student Thinking
Mission Statement:
The purpose of Huntington County 4-H Robotics is to empower young minds in our Huntington County Community with engineering, business and leadership knowledge to achieve scientific and problem solving skills for use in their future endeavors. Through our 4-H special interest group in our Huntington Community, students will learn how to construct a competitive robot through engineering design, hands on building and operate our student driven team in a business environment following the ideas of FIRST.
Do our students know it?
I doubt any could recite it, but they know the concept and know we have one.
Do we strive to our mission?
Yes I believe we do, we try to elect student officers that drive what they want to do.
“Team Mercury will inspire students to pursue careers in science and technology by forging a partnership with parents, sponsors, and community members. Students will employ teamwork and organizational skills to simulate the environment of a small business. Through the development and presentation of a FIRST competition robot, Team Mercury will engage the community by participating in local outreach events. Lastly, the team will exemplify the spirit of gracious professionalism in its communication with all parties influenced by its projects, and have a blast while doing it!”
Lightning Robotics Mission Statement
“Our goal is to provide high school students with the opportunity to learn from mentors in the field of engineering. To expose them to a real life atmosphere with a hands on engineering project. To meet the challenge of the thought process from the beginning to completion. Enter friendly competition with the desire to do well and overcome any obstacle encountered, and deal with it through what they have learned. And in the spirit of FIRST, have FUN doing it!”