# Institutions have implicit, explicit, and perceived missions The mission of an institution is what it shapes individual interactions to achieve. [[Institutions shape how individuals interact]]. An institution’s explicit mission is what the people in that institution explicitly claim is its mission. An institutions implicit mission is what the institution actually shapes individuals to achieve. [[Reaper functions beat culture decks]]. The perceived mission is what people *outside* of the institution project onto it as what it’s trying to achieve. You could think of this as its societal purpose. Ideally, all three of these are the same, but they rarely are. Institutions become cancerous when their implicit goal becomes “survival at all costs” [[Most institutions have become cancerous]] * [[List of Purpose and Missions of Different Institutions]] <!-- #evergreen --> [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Institutions+have+implicit,+explicit,+and+perceived+missions) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Institutions+have+implicit,+explicit,+and+perceived+missions)