Management theorist Peter F. Drucker has long written about business purpose and mission. His approach to business begins with the simple questions: What is our business? Who are our customers? Where are they? What do they consider of value? Purpose and mission becomes the core for every decision made by a park and recreation agency. To carry these questions a step further to accessibility management, the questions become: Is our business inclusive of people with disabilities? Are people with disabilities represented in our customer base? What are their wants and needs? What do they consider value? According to Drucker (1973, p. 80), each customer has different expectations and values, yet all customers have to be satisfied in the answer to the question, 'What is our business?'

For park and recreation practitioners, the questions must go beyond 'What is our business?' to 'What is the experience we want people to come away with?' Pine and Gilmore (as cited by Peters, 2003) describe the 'experience ladder' where 'raw materials are at the base,' followed by 'goods,' then 'services.' Then...scraping the sky... 'experiences.' This is illustrated (Pine, Gilmore, Peters, p. 120) through the transition of the U.S. economy: 1940, the raw material economy; 1955, the goods economy; 1970, the service economy, 1990, the experience economy. The evolution of the economy as an experience economy; this is where park and recreation professionals need to pay particular attention, since ours is the industry where all that we do is centered around the resulting experience with which a park visitor or program participant will walk away. A week at summer camp making new friends, an eagle on the 16th hole made in front of the big boss, the legend of the big fish that got away told to old buddies, a hike to Morning Glory Springs with a loved one--these are the experiences, the memories that are made through the provision of parks and recreation.

In his book, Re-image! Tom Peters (2003) argues that for success, the organization must transform its thinking beyond the 'service' it provides to the 'experience' people get as a result of participation. Whether it is camping, golf, fishing, or hiking, the relevance is not necessarily on the 'act of' but more so on the 'experience from.' These are the experiences that generate the good feelings, the steps toward balanced and healthy living. These are the contributions to individual health that fold into community and global health. The organization, from the top, must determine its business purpose and mission and how a diverse customer mix fits into the equation.