Personal mission statement

A complementary approach advocated by Covey (1992), would be to work on developing one s own personal mission statement, in which you set out your values md guiding principles for directing your life. You may be comfortable with neither of these approaches, which are only suggestions for your self-assessment. The point is to find some way of formulating your own sense of direction. 

For an individual, a personal mission statement serves these same functions. Thinking clarifies values and targets, the announcement creates an ideal, telling yourself is a reminder of right conduct, and telling others encourages you to close the gap between the way you would like to be and the way you are. 

A personal mission statement should be a succinct, memorable list of numbered points that are broadly drawn, yet reasonably concrete. The list should be preceded by a preamble that can be as simple as a single phrase ( My mission in life is to ) or a more elaborate, yet brief discussion of key assumptions or background. Careful editing and word choice is necessary to embrace your mission succinctly, memorably, and accurately. 

Getting feedback from a spouse or a close friend on your draft mission statement is useful, and posting the mission statement with that person helps create external pressure for you to live up to your intentions. As you review your values statement and goals, you should review your mission statement to make sure that it remains a valid snapshot of where you believe you need to go. 

Write a personal mission statement as a list of mission elements preceded by a preamble. Challenge each mission element. Is it a platitude or is it something you believe in strongly Give the draft statement to a close friend, parent, or spouse for feedback. Carefully edit the final statement so that it is accurate, succinct, and memorable. 

At a strategic level of personal planning, value statements lead to mission statements, but to actualize the lofty aims of die mission statement, it is important to visit and revisit your goals. Goal setting feeds your to-do list with activities that are worth doing—with activities that help you accomplish your life s mission. 

In matty organizations the complete strategic plan is not available to matty of the employees so the commitment of the top management personnel must be visible to the employees in the vision and mission statements as well as the goals and objectives. Examples can be observed by searching various Web sites for mission, vision, and values statements of corporations that interest you personally. 

To overcome this potential problem, part of the training programme included a session on producing a personal mission statement for each group (for example, by department or shift). The company policy statement on quality was reviewed and used as a basis for the development of these local, quality policy statements. These had to be written in behavioural terms, which were specific, observable and measurable, and were displayed in the departments concerned. Ultimately, the group members would use their own quality policy statement to answer two questions ... 

Last, but not least, is creating a sense of commitment. Commitment is cooperation with communication. As you communicate with others, ask yourself these three questions why are you here, what do you want, and what have you learned We are aU in the business of lifelong learning. So, if your answers to these three questions are not consistent with your personal mission statement and aligned with the organization s vision, you ve got an important decision to make. 

Discuss methods for developing a vision/mission statement Compare and contrast personal and organizational scope drift. 

Building interdependent trust and belonging should be part of the mission statement for every corporate endeavor that involves people. It should influence almost every conversation we have with coworkers. It is a continuous journey, essential to cultivating an organization of individuals and teams whose personal and shared accountabilities for safety and health are sufficient to achieve a Total Safety Culture. The seven C-words reviewed here are easy to remember, and although their meanings overlap to some extent, each offers distinct directives for trust-budding behavior. 

A company s culture reflects its values, beliefs, practices, and goals throughout its communication system. For instance, super-successful Southwest Airhnes initiates its learning culture in its mission statement We are committed to provide our employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth (emphasis added). 

I have seen several corporate mission statements with the safety goal of zero injuries. As I have indicated earlier, this is obviously an example of incorrect goal setting. It is easy enough to track injuries, but employees daily experiences lead them to believe that many injuries are beyond their direct control. For one thing, injuries usually happen to someone else— what can they do about that One injury in the workplace, perhaps resulting from another person s carelessness, ruins the goal of zero injuries. This leads to a perception of failme. 

Begin at the beginning. Discover what this person and/or organization really wants and needs. This is ISO 9000 Principle 1, Customer Focus, in action. Study the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) provided by the organization seeking services. Visit the organization s website. Search for and examine foundational documents such as mission and vision statements and lists of core values. 

Besides explaining the general mission and the TEAM concept, the team facilitator should also provide opportunities for fhe participants to get acquainted. Introductions could be initiated with a statement like, "Let s get to know each other better by each person stating your name, your job, and your general expectations, if any, about our team assignment." Later, you might also ask each team member to say something about safety. "Tell us what you know about behavior-based safety or about your personal interest or commitment to occupational safety."... 

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