The mission needs to be thought through regularly, to determine whether it needs to be refocused, or whether objectives may need to be changed. The organization that starts out from inside, and then tries to find places to put its resources is going to fritter itself away because it is focusing on the past, not the future. One looks to the outside for opportunities and needs. Mission is always long range. This is particularly important for NPOs because they do not have a bottom line, and also because they are here to serve.
Action is always short term.
Abandoning things that look attractive requires thinking through the priorities. Leaders are visible, and have to live up to high expectations. Everybody is a leader, everybody is responsible, everybody acts. Thus, leadership and mission are things we must all do something about.