Mission Statement

Mission Statements are everywhere. For example, here's Taco Bell's Mission Statement: "We take pride in making the best Mexican style fast food providing fast, friendly and accurate service. We are the employer of choice offering team members opportunities for growth, advancement, and rewarding careers in a fun, safe working environment. We are accountable for profitability in everything we do, providing our shareholders with value growth. " What about Starbucks (we call it Fourbucks, because you can't get out without spending $4): Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions:Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business.Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee.Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. Pretty boring stuff (no wonder people need so much caffeine to get going in the morning, and mid-afternoon). The only mission that really matters is something like: "My mission statement is to participate in the end of suffering." The greatest people/organizations in the world are taking up the mission to end suffering. A person will do anything to end suffering in their life. Consequently, if you dial into suffering in any arena and help to end it, you'll create a movement of people that want to participate. If I take it up a notch, my vision statement is to "destroy spiritual, relational, emotional, physical, and financial poverty worldwide." What's your vision? What are some ways you think I can accomplish my vision?

What's up with you?

The Hardest Person to Lead It doesn't take long to realize that leadership is hard. You should be able to conjure up the names of at least five people who make that a true statement. All kinds of things make leadership difficult, but certain people are one of those things. As the picture of those certain people comes to mind, take a minute to let that picture fade. Because of all the difficult people you will lead, the hardest person to lead will be yourself. Call it whatever you want-the discipline of a leader, self-leadership, managing yourself-you've got your work cut out for you. The journey of leadership is as much inward as it is outward. Leadership, done well, will continually be a force that drives you back into the center of yourself to find out what you are really made of. Great leadership occurs when you understand your own motives, your ‘dark side,' what you want to misrepresent in order to look better than you really are. One of the things I believe deeply is this: Leaders ought to be the most self-aware people in the room. Sure, who doesn't agree with that? Especially if I clarify that I am not talking about a narcissistic self-awareness. You know the kind: The people who know only two pronouns: I and me-no, not that kind of self-awareness. I'm talking about the kind of self-awareness that makes you comfortable in your own skin. You know who you are and who you aren't. You lean into and lead out of your strengths. You have words for your brokenness, and while you may wish you had none, you know that you do, and you know what they are. And you know that other people know. You wouldn't have it any other way. Taken from Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands by Nancy Ortberg. Copyright © 2008 by Nancy Ortberg. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Give, Receive, and be the second chance

I fail a great deal. If I fail, it means I'm trying. Trying something! A mentor of mine once said, "If you try something, something will happen." Generally, I like something happening more than nothing happening. However, if I try, I generally fail. It's not a matter of if I'll fail, but when. One second I'm taking a chance, the next second I need a second chance. I'm a part of The People of the Second Chance, which is a community of individuals who advocate radical grace and second chances. We champion lost causes and think that a second chance is a human right.People of the Second chance have 3 core values: 1. People of the Second Chance are individuals who are fast to forgive. In a culture that believes in revenge and payback, we rebel with grace. 2. People of the Second Chance receive second chances in their own life. When we have experienced personal, professional, or relational failure, we refuse to be defined by our mistakes. We learn, we grow, and we have the courage to move on. 3. People of the Second Chance serve in places where people need second chances. We advocate for the vulnerable and fight for equality for the poor, the prisoner, and the voiceless.These three values can be simply summed up by:Give, Receive & Be the Second Chance.

Questions

I recently read a book titled, "How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling" and I was intrigued by a chapter about "questions". Instead of making so many positive statements, you should put your conversation in the form of questions the author added. The author of the book went on to describe how in one day he generated more sales then he had anticipated for the entire year! The epiphany of simply asking questions changed the entire trajectory of his sales career! It made me think about how the principle of asking questions is so important to direct selling too. If I were looking into a direct selling opportunity for the first time here are a few questions I would ask my potential sponsor: 1. Is the company you represent debt free? 2. Is the company privately or publicly held? 3. How long has the company been around? 4. Is the company registered with the BBB? 5. What % of company sales go back to the business owners in the comp. plan? 6. Does the company have a global footprint? 7. Is the company an innovator (how many patents, awards, etc. are they responsible for)? 8. Is the product line limited by a specific category? 9. Where do they rank in their category (are they a leader)? 10. How are they investing in the future? 11. How many products do they offer to sell? 12. What are their annual sales? 13. Do you use your own products? These a few questions I would ask. How about you?