Does your company have a mission statement? Based on the following definition, it does even if it’s not in writing:
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing.
The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides “the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated.”[1]
Do you notice a contradiction in the two paragraphs above? Took me over 50 years to notice it. And it’s given me a new direction and joy in my life. What is it? Mission statements apply to persons and not just organizations.
So what is your personal mission statement? What is your family’s mission statement? Both are vitally important, but I have yet to find more than a handful of people who have a clearly defined personal or family mission statement. I attribute much of the unhappiness and stress I encounter in individuals to this critical life oversight.
I drifted and reacted to circumstances for most of my adult life. My decisions reflected the lack of guiding principles and parameters to decide what to do or not to do. In hindsight, my career and family, while not all bad, suffered from my lack of understanding why I was here. The use of my talents and abilities lacked any direction.
Luckily, a career misstep put me in position to be asked this question. I found the answer, and what a difference it has made for everything I do. My days are exciting, decisions are easier, and the feedback I am receiving grows increasingly positive. Seriously.
I won’t bore you with my actual statement. I will show it to you if we meet. I will tell you my strategy is found in my company’s name and this blog. I do recommend you spend some quality time determining your personal mission statement, and I will be happy to help you. You won’t regret it.
1 ^ Hill, Ch., Jones, G. Strategic Management. Houghton Mifflin Company: New York, 2008. ISBN 978-0-618-89469-7, page 11