Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group SEE the invisible and ACHIEVE the impossible Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group 4719 Quail Lakes Drive Suite G-347 Stockton, CA 95207 (209) 910-4055 www.destined2bu.com ~ coachlindahillman@destined2bu.com Discovering YOU is our Purpose Developing Your Mission Statement Mission Statement: A paragraph that captures the essence of what you are about – your core business, it accurately explains what your organization/individual does and what it hopes to achieve in the future. It articulates the essential nature, its values, and its work. An effective Mission Statement must resonate with the every level of those that it represents. It must express the individual or organization’s purpose in a way that inspires commitment, innovation, and courage. Individuals, organizations, small groups, and club all can benefit from a mission statement. What Should Be In A Organization’s Mission Statement? The following concepts are critical in defining "who" your organization is: At the very least, your Mission Statement should answer three key questions: 1. What are the opportunities or needs that we exist to address? (the purpose of the organization) 2. What are we doing to address these needs? (the business of the organization) 3. What principles or beliefs guide our work? (the values of the organization) The Purpose Statement The purpose statement clearly states what your organization seeks to accomplish: Why does your organization exist? What is the ultimate result of your work? Purpose statements usually include two phrases: An infinitive that indicates a change in status, such as to increase, to decrease, to prevent, to eliminate An identification of the problem or condition to be changed. In defining purpose, it is essential to focus on outcomes and results rather than methods: How is the world going to be different? What is going to change? Thus, the purpose of a mental health counseling agency would never be simply "to provide counseling services," for that is describing a method rather than a result. Rather, the purpose might be "to improve the quality of life" for its clients. Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group SEE the invisible and ACHIEVE the impossible Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group 4719 Quail Lakes Drive Suite G-347 Stockton, CA 95207 (209) 910-4055 www.destined2bu.com ~ coachlindahillman@destined2bu.com Discovering YOU is our Purpose Your Organization’s Mission Statement Should: Express your organization’s purpose in a way that inspires support and ongoing commitment Motivate those who are connected to the organization Be articulated in a way that is convincing and easy to grasp Use proactive verbs to describe what you do Be free from jargon or slang Be short enough so that anyone connected to the organization can readily repeat it. Failure to clearly state and communicate your organization's Mission Statement can have harmful consequences, including: organization members can waste time "barking up the wrong tree" the organization may not think broadly enough about different possibilities if its mission statement is unclear or overly narrow the organization may not realize when it is time to go out of business Finally, the importance of Mission Statements is summarized quite eloquently by Lewis Caroll through the words of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, "If you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter which way you go." Indeed! Sample Organizational Mission Statements: "To provide a safe and stimulating environment for bright and curious children to interact with and learn from each other. To entertain children with educational offerings that provides fun learning opportunities. To create a profitable website that generates strategic value for our investors and partners. To provide a creative and rewarding work environment for our employees." "To provide high quality products that combine performance with value pricing, while establishing a successful relationship with our customers and our suppliers. To constantly strive to meet or exceed our customer needs and expectations of price, service, and selection. To this end, we will perform periodic reviews of the marketplace to improve our offerings. “ "To be a profitable provider of high quality software solutions and services that provide strategic value to our customers and create a company that can attract, recruit and retain smart and talented employees.” Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group SEE the invisible and ACHIEVE the impossible Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group 4719 Quail Lakes Drive Suite G-347 Stockton, CA 95207 (209) 910-4055 www.destined2bu.com ~ coachlindahillman@destined2bu.com Discovering YOU is our Purpose Guidelines For Creating A Personal Mission Statement While there is no unique format or formula for creating your personal mission statement, the following guidelines may be helpful: Keep it simple, clear and brief. The best mission statements tend to be 3 to 5 sentences long. Your personal Mission Statement should touch upon what you want to focus on and who you want to become as a person (character) in this part of your life. Think about specific actions, behaviors, habits and qualities that would have a significant positive impact in this part of your life over the next one to three years. Make sure your Mission Statement is positive. Instead of saying what you don't want to do or don't want to be, say what you do want to do or become. Find the positive alternatives to any negative statements. Include positive behaviors, character traits and values that you consider particularly important and want to develop further. Think about how your actions, habits, behavior and character traits in this area affect the important relationships in your life. Create a Mission Statement that will guide you in your day-to-day actions and decisions. Make it a part of your everyday life. Think about how your mission affects the other areas of your life. Is it consistent with your other personal mission statements? Will it conflict with or contradict something else? Is it balanced? Make it emotional. Including an emotional payoff in your mission statement infuses it with passion and will make it even more compelling, inspiring and energizing. Remember that your mission statement is not cast in stone. It will continue to change and evolve as you gain insights about yourself and what you want out of each part of your life. Personal Mission Statement Sentence Templates Here are some sample personal mission statement sentence templates to get you started (check out the values list for ideas on possible values you could use). Use these templates as seeds to get your creative juices flowing. Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group SEE the invisible and ACHIEVE the impossible Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group 4719 Quail Lakes Drive Suite G-347 Stockton, CA 95207 (209) 910-4055 www.destined2bu.com ~ coachlindahillman@destined2bu.com Discovering YOU is our Purpose "To ... [what you want to achieve, do or become] ... so that ... [reasons why it is important]. I will do this by ... [specific behaviors or actions you can use to get there]." "To live each day with ... [choose one to three values or principles]... so that ... [what living by these values will give you]. I will do this by ... [specific behaviors you will use to live by these values]." "To appreciate and enjoy ... [things you want to appreciate and enjoy more] by ... [what you can do to appreciate/enjoy these things]." "To treasure above all else ... [most important things to you] by ... [what you can do to live your priorities]." "To be known by ... [an important person/group]... as someone who is ... [qualities you want to have]...; by ... [some other person/group]... as someone who is ... [other qualities]...;” Sample Personal Mission Statements "My purpose throughout each day of my life is to express my commitment to love and cherish my family and friends, improve myself personally and professionally so that I can advance within my career, lead a successful career that I will enjoy, and take on any challenges that come my way." --Submitted by Susana 07/29/06 "I dedicate myself to an attitude of gratitude in order to improve my health and my wealth. With this attitude, I will generously share my time and my talents with my family, my church and my community." --Submitted by Rhea 08/27/06 "To value and live in a manner that shows reverence for all living beings by fostering healthy relationships and mutual respect for all so that those around me so that they may be influenced and encouraged to live positively and fruitfully. Accordingly, I will do this by continuing my education both academic and personal so that I may continue to grow and learn in order to make a progressive, effective, and beneficial impact in my relationships with other people and the environment." "The REIGN Mission To Reach, Educate, Inspire, Grow, and Nurture today's Generation" "To live each day with passion, love, and faith so that I may become closer to the Lord and make a difference in people’s lives. I will do this by spending time daily in the Word, seeking out opportunities to help others, and by striving to live as Jesus Christ did." Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group SEE the invisible and ACHIEVE the impossible Destined 2 B U Empowerment Coaching Group 4719 Quail Lakes Drive Suite G-347 Stockton, CA 95207 (209) 910-4055 www.destined2bu.com ~ coachlindahillman@destined2bu.com Discovering YOU is our Purpose Difference Between Mission And Vision Statements Vision statements describe your own unique vision of what an ideal experience in each of your life areas would be like. They tend to focus on the distant future looking forward five to ten years. They represent an ideal outcome. Mission statements are based on your current situation and what you need to focus on in the next one to three years to move you closer to your long-term vision. While vision statements are passive, focusing mostly what you want to experience, mission statements are active focusing on your actions, behaviors, habits and character. Mission and vision statements are complementary to each other. Vision statements show you an idealized description of your ultimate destination, while mission statements represent your chosen path to get you there.