Personal Mission Statement Part 2 - Values

Mission statements are a waste of time. That is, if no one in the organization wants to change or grow. Don't take the time to write your own mission statement or to craft a mission statement for your organization if you don't want to do anything differently. The truth is that you are doing exactly what you need to do to get the results that you're getting. Your organization is ideally suited to achieve what you've achieved.

But, if you want to do something different. If you want to see real change and movement toward a goal, then a mission statement can help. The idea is to balance description, prescription and prediction in one statement. What this often leads to is huge, messy, cumbersome paragraphs that try to encompass everything that a person or organization values. You can't do that in one statement and if you try, it'll be worse than useless. It's like packing your back for vacation - you can't take everything you have at home. You have to choose just what you need for the trip and leave the rest behind.

Start with figuring out your values. These are the things that you get passionate about that make you unique. Your beliefs underlie your values and may not be unique, but your values are the beliefs that keep coming up. When you find yourself gravitating toward certain topics or getting excited about specific actions, you can know that you're touching on your values. Spend some time writing down your skills, abilities and personality traits. What picture emerges for you?

Here are my values:

·         Understanding: Knowledge and intelligence are tools for personal and corporate change. Without taking time to understand an issue, a solution cannot be formulated. However, knowledge and intelligence must motivate action.
·         Experimenting: Trying different options is the best way to find the right one. The process of disciplined experimentation makes the end-product better. Without failure, progress is stunted and slow. All experimentation must happen in the context of understanding. It then adds to the understanding and provides fodder for further experimentation.
·         Inspiring: Deep understanding and refined experimenting must be shared with others and move them to action. Stasis is tantamount to death, aimless activity is not much better. Inspired, thoughtful, risk-taking action, however, can move individuals and organizations toward growth and health. 

Personal Mission Statement Part 1

I've been reading EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches by Dave Ramsey. It's the story of how he built a business from nothing but a card table in his living room into a multi-million dollar operation. It's the principles that have allowed him to run a business that honors both his customers and his team members (he doesn't call them employees because he wants people who are sold out to his mission).

One of the first steps recommended in the book is to write a personal mission statement. I've helped several churches craft mission statements, I've created a mission statement for my marriage, but I'd never written a personal mission statement. So on Saturday I took several hours and wrote out my mission, vision and values.

Every time I've walked with a church through the process of creating a mission statement I've said: "A good mission statement lets you say 'no' to good choices."

If you have a mission statement that actually reflects the unique mission of your organization, then you you can limit your involvement in activities to only those things that line up with your purpose. For example, if you run a thrift store, you should probably not get into the business of home remodeling. It's not a part of your mission, even though it may be a good thing.

Mission - is what you are going to do today to live the life you want to live. These are the tactics you will employ to achieve your goals. What you do may change, but your mission defines the parameters of what you do and describes how you're going to do it.

Vision - is where you are going in the future. This is the strategy you've decided on to achieve your goals. A vision is typically couched in broad language, but underlying each statement is a SMART goal. You can look back in 5 or 10 years and see that you've accomplished your vision because you've achieved the goals.

Values - are the core principles that outline your vision and undergird your vision. Values are more than just what you believe, they are what you get excited about. When someone challenges your values, you get angry. When someone is interested in your values, you get excited. You can't stop talking about your values and people know this about you. If you read off the list of your values, your closest friends and family should see a clear picture of you.

Have you worked on a personal mission statement? How has it helped you?

Note, the link to the book is an affiliate link and I earn a small commission on any purchases made through it.