Mission creep. It’s a term you may have encountered in columns about politics, business, even education. Mission creep is when an organization established with a particular purpose (i.e., its mission) gradually drifts away from that purpose, taking on new and different functions and responsibilities. Eventually the group’s original mission may be minimized or even abandoned in favor of new goals.
Mission creep happens all the time in business. A company starts out producing one thing, then steadily expands into other areas, perhaps even leaving behind its original business model altogether. Sony Corporation,…