Designing for Care (Part 2): How I Think About Mission Lock
The constraint that protects your purpose
Last week, I wrote about how care gets designed out.
How it slips away through small trade-offs.
How it gets shaved down in the name of momentum, or removed entirely in the name of scale.
Not because people are bad - but because they’re busy.
And because responsibility is easy to avoid when no one names it.
So this week, I want to share what I’ve been thinking about instead:
What it looks like to hold care in. To build for it. To protect it on purpose.
I started writing about B Corps & Public Benefit Corporations because I believe structure shapes outcomes.
You can’t operationalize care without constraint.
And one of the most overlooked constraints is the one that tells you what not to do.
That’s what mission lock is about.
Mission Lock?
Mission lock is what keeps your purpose from being optional.
It’s not a tagline or a vibe, it’s a structural commitment to:
Name the trade-offs you won’t make
Make the non-negotiables visible
Embed them in how decisions actually get made
It’s what turns “care” from a value into a constraint.
The point isn’t rigidity. The point is to have a line you can’t quietly step over because things got exciting, chaotic, or hard.
A Quick Test
Here are three questions I’ve started asking teams when we talk about mission lock:
What’s a trade-off your org will never make?
Where is that documented? Who actually sees it?
What happens when someone pushes on that line?
If your answers rely on “the right people just knowing,” your mission probably isn’t locked.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means you’re still relying on vibes.
And vibes don’t scale under pressure.
What it Looks Like
In practice, mission lock might show up as:
A clause in your bylaws that limits who you’ll take money from
A governance model that requires stakeholder consultation before decisions
A documented design principle that flags harm even when it’s not illegal
A product roadmap filter that checks for alignment before speed
It doesn’t have to be complex, but it has to be real.
You should feel it in your gut, and in your systems.
Why It Matters
Because care doesn’t scale on sentiment alone. It needs structure. It needs someone to name the line.
That’s what mission lock gives you:
A way to anchor your integrity into action, not just intention.
And maybe, by holding that line, you make it easier for others to do the same.
For purpose-driven founders, B Corps, or anyone trying to hold care in place - it’s not enough to mean well.
Mission lock is how we make meaning hold up under pressure.
It’s how we scale with spine.
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Still figuring out how to structure for care in your org?
Same. I’m learning out loud - come along for the ride.
If this sparked something, you might want to stick around.
I’m writing more about the structures that help purpose hold under pressure.
→ Read Part 1:The Quiet Ways Care Gets Designed Out
Loved this. You’re asking such important questions—and doing it in a way that feels grounded and human. Can’t wait to see where you take this next!