The never-quite perfect vision statement

By Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report August 2023

Can two words define the goal of an entire scientific and engineering discipline?
 
Perfecting Motion®, STLE’s remarkably concise vision statement that was adopted several years ago, is now a registered trademark based on approval in June by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

This short phrase, which is part of STLE’s Strategic Plan (www.stle.org/StrategicPlan), is worthy of such a protected status because it vividly captures the essence of the work being done by the tribology and lubrication engineering community now and into the future. 

Providing a focus on the goals and aspirations of members and the organization is the purpose of a vision statement, according to organizational consultants.1 These statements are designed to be inspiring and timeless so that even if an organization changes its strategy, the vision can remain the same. In STLE’s case, the vision statement serves a dual purpose. For people already in the field, or thinking about a career in tribology, it’s a reminder that the study of friction and wear enables technological breakthroughs. These occur when it is applied to engineering challenges as large as a wind turbine or as small as the contact lens in the eye of someone with impaired vision. 

The widespread impact of efforts to perfect motion are highlighted in the new STLE 2023 Report on Emerging Issues and Trends in Tribology and Lubrication Engineering (www.stle.org/2023EmergingTrendsReport). It emphasizes how the application of tribological principles has the potential to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. This includes significant energy savings and controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which plays a meaningful role in the global quest for a sustainable future. 

There’s also a second purpose of the vision statement. It is intentionally written to pique curiosity in those who’ve never heard of tribology and provide a clue as to what the discipline is all about. That is why it works nicely as the title for the STLE podcast series Perfecting Motion®: Tribology and the Quest for Sustainability (www.stle.org/podcast). Hosted by Dr. Neil Canter, STLE advisor – technical programs and services, the podcasts feature conversations with leading industry professionals who share their insights about how tribology research is affecting people every day. 

The vision statement also is an effective conversation starter when explaining the significance of the tribology field. It opens the door to pointing out that the mobility people enjoy when traveling by car or airplane is due in large part to tribology. On a more personal level, it provides freedom of movement for people with aging joints by creating more durable artificial hips and knees. 

If all of this is true, why isn’t the vision statement something like Perfection in Motion? That phrase was under consideration, but we realized that “perfection” implied there would be some point in the future when all tribological problems would be solved. That statement, in addition to creating an existential crisis for STLE and its members, missed the fact that problems related to friction and wear will never be solved. So, the proper way of stating our vision is to focus on the never-ending challenge of Perfecting Motion®.

REFERENCE 
1. Click here.
 
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.