The present article describes the design and implementation process of a new mission and vision at the Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers (Infonavit), which took place in 2009. The change in mission was an organization that had been highly successful in producing mortgage lending and financial returns between 2001 and 2006 in order to fulfill a broader mission that includes the quality of life of users and the economic, social and environmental sustainability of communities. This change led to tensions between the centralizing logic and process control, which allowed past success, and the flexibility needed at the local level to achieve the new goals. The paper describes the tensions and dilemmas that arise in this organizational change comparing two perspectives: the prospect of a transition that is seen as linear, smooth and successful from headquarters with a chaotic, incomplete and full of complications that are perceived from those implementing the changes. The document provides a final note on the changes that seem necessary to reconcile, at least in principle, these tensions and dilemmas.