Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM April 2019 | Page 16
FROM THE BUSINESS COACH
BY MIKE HILDERBRAND, BS, MBA, CBC
ActionCOACH of Galveston
[email protected]
www.galvestonbizcoach.com
What is the Purpose of
“PURPOSE STATEMENTS”?
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hese three words are very critical to any
business or organization. Even if you are as
large as Microsoft or just starting out as a
lone ranger, these are purpose statements
to run your business by. Unfortunately, many
businesses that have taken the time to write their
Vision/Mission/Culture statements do so and then they
are quickly placed “out of sight, out of mind”. Owners
feel better that they have them, but these purpose
statements are not used to their fullest potential.
The question to ask is “What is the purpose of these
purpose statements?” Answering that question will get
you a lot more mileage out of them so let’s briefly go
over them now.
Vision. This is the long-range goal of what you
see your business becoming. It’s out there on the
horizon as far as you can see. Remember, as you get
closer to your ideal your horizon expands, so always
re-evaluate your Vision. The Vision of ActionCOACH,
for example, is “World Abundance Through Business
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Re-education”. Each word has a specific meaning about
how ActionCOACH sees the world of business.
Mission. This is how you are going to accomplish
your Vision. The mission is simply explaining what
course the business takes in day-to-day movement
towards the horizon. It also plays a defining role and
sets forth the values and beliefs that the business
holds as most important. Businesses love to hang a
paragraph in their lobbies about themselves, but there
they sit. Many of the mission statements I have read are
subjective; although that is the idea, it’s good to get
an objective view. It’s nice to let visitors know what you
are supposedly all about but its real use is for you. To
truly understand this, you really need to understand
yourself.
Culture. This is the most overlooked of the three, yet
it is the most utilized in day-to-day operations. Simply
put, it lays out the rules of the game, defining how
you operate as a company. It’s about what you expect
from your people, your customers, and your suppliers.
It sets behavior standards for your business. It should
have tight aspects to it - absolutes and limits of what
is tolerable - as well as loose aspects to it to enable
innovation. ActionCOACH has a culture statement and
embodied in it are 12 distinct points that all coaches
should aspire to. It can be found on the ActionCOACH
website.
Collectively, these statements should be used as
benchmarks to measure your strategies against. Does
your new chosen business strategy get you closer to
your vision of what your ideal company is? (Vision)
Does it fit with the path you want to take? (Mission)
And finally, is it capable of fitting into the set of rules by
which you operate? (Culture).
The more clearly you can define your purpose
statements, the easier it will be for your employees to
follow them. These statements are the primary drivers
that run the business when you are not there. Your
employees should understand the values inherent in
them. Remember, a business should be a profitable,
commercial enterprise that works WITHOUT YOU!