Set ambitious goals
On starting CNN in 1980, Ted Turner said:
"We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... and when the end of the world comes, we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' before we sign off."
I love this quotation as a mission statement. There's no ambiguity around the ambition and commitment that Turner expects from his new network and people that make up the organization that run it.