Dr. Jason’s Speak Life™ Newsletter – Volume 6 Issue 3
Inside This Issue
• Drafting Your Mission Statement
• Message from the President
• Thinking Globally
• Consulting Focus: Coaching
• Industry Perspectives
Drafting Your Mission Statement
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. Effective mission statements start by articulating the organization’s purpose of existence.
Mission statements often include the following information: Aim(s) of the organization, The organization’s primary stakeholders: clients/customers, shareholders, congregation, etc. How the organization provides value to these stakeholders, for example by offering specific types of products and/or services.
A declaration of an organization’s sole core purpose. A mission statement answers the question, “Why do we exist?” A mission statement outlines the organization’s fundamental purposes. Self-concept. Philosophy. Long-term survival needs. Customer needs. Social responsibility. Nature of the product or service. An intelligible mission statement is essential to clarify the intentions of your business. Traditionally, mission statements are a blend of realism and optimism. There are four key elements found in effective statements: Value, inspiration, plausibility, and specificity. In a couple of short sentences, you should be able to convey the value of your company or why your brand exists, inspire and encourage your employees, sound completely reasonable and plausible, and be as specific and relevant as possible. Find a key theme for your company, and make sure each of these components revolve around it. This is a mission statement, not a mission essay. Try to sum up your entire company’s mission in one or two sentences. Think of it this way: Your mission statement, at its absolute best, should be able to double as your slogan. Concise mission statements are also more memorable and effective. So there’s no need to make it overly complicated; just state the purpose of your company, your reason for starting it in the first place.
Message from the President
“I believe that each of us possesses the ability to achieve greatness in our lives”…
Organizational greatness should be a goal for any organization. Mediocrity must never be tolerated. I believe that each of us possesses the ability to achieve greatness in our lives, and that should carry over into any group we are a part of. After all, it is individuals that make up the group. Your organization must strive for the highest standards. One way to achieve greatness is to learn from individuals who have distinguished themselves through their accomplishments and character.
Learning organizations tend to be the most successful ones. This process involves becoming proficient at the skills necessary to accomplish the every day tasks. It starts with the basics. One must crawl before he can walk. You must first identify your core competencies—the things that give your company a competitive advantage. Next, you must teach these competencies to every pertinent member of the organization. Finally, there needs to be a mechanism to measure performance of these skills.
As you master these steps, your organization will be one its way to achieving greatness. What can you learn today that will aid you on your path to achieving greatness?
Thinking Globally
About 95 percent of the world’s population lives outside of the United States. There are over 6.9 billion customers in the 194 countries that make up the global market. This creates a huge opportunity for today’s businesses that cannot be ignored. Technology, particularly the internet, has opened up this vast marketplace to U.S. businesses in a way that did not exist just decades ago. Forward-thinking firms are taking advantage of this opportunity for global trade. Companies can enter world trade through exporting, licensing, joint ventures, franchising or strategic alliances. Yes, there are risks and challenges with engaging in global business, however, the potential rewards are great. The global market potential does not belong only to large, multinational corporations. Small and medium-sized firms are often better equipped to react quickly and enter into global markets.
Consulting Focus: Coaching
Coaching is a key component of business consulting. A coach provides positive support, feedback and advice to an individual or group to improve their effectiveness in the organization. A good consultant tells the client what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. In many cases, a client has an unspoken need to have their preconceived idea or conclusion affirmed regardless of its merits. One of the challenges is to help the client reach their goal based on facts and reality, not the client’s desire to ignore the unpleasant. Listening is probably the most important skill of a coach. Building rapport with people is also vital.
Coaching can encompass many areas, including decision-making, communication, change-management, and conflict resolution—to name a few. Coaching is an ongoing process, a method of continuous development and a learning experience for coaches and clients. Therefore, it is important to learn from mistakes.
The coach is an educator. He or she provides the tools clients need to be successful in their business-related and interpersonal functions.
Industry Perspectives
The consulting industry is all about driving results. Clients are looking to realize results consistently and predictably. It is the job of consultants to help facilitate these results. To achieve results, individuals must behave differently. To be successful at helping businesses and organizations achieve lasting results, the consultant must:
Be knowledgeable
Possess integrity
Understand
Exceed expectations
This involves overcoming opposition and injecting urgency into performance. We work side-by-side with our clients to develop innovative strategies and solutions. Then, we stay around to help execute the plan – because we believe that’s the only way to create real and lasting value. Results are important for our clients and thus results are what matters for us. We define and agree upon concrete and tangible benefits to be measured and delivered in every project. We view close collaboration with our clients, embedding strong ownership and continuous knowledge sharing as central elements in a successful delivery. We see strategy as important but execution as critical for our clients’ success. We work with our clients to challenge and validate direction and ensure successful execution and realization of value.