Whether you are in business for yourself or you are working in the corporate world, creating your mission is an essential part of life. Creating your mission allows you to connect with what you are doing on a much deeper level; your why.
A while back, I was working as a Human Resources Consultant. I started my company with my business partner and we immediately thought about a business plan. That business plan consisted of action items for each; the who, the what, the where, and the when.
We had lists of what each person was in charge of handling. What we blindly missed was the core of business, the reason why that business needed to exist; the mission, the why.
In Simon Sinek’s ted talk, he mentions the golden circle, the why of your business. It describes your purpose, your cause, your believes.
If we dig a little deeper into a corporation, each person should be familiar with the mission of the business. They should also know the why of their own positions.
- Why do employees need to know the reasons their positions exist?
- Why is this part such a big deal?
- Why do they need to connect to their own personal why?
One reason is that it allows employees to connect with their responsibilities and job duties on a completely different level. They are able to have a more conscious understanding of why they do what they do. Another reason is that it creates inspired leaders and inspired organizations.
In creating my mission for The Center of Confidence, I had to really think about who I was targeting, the impact I wanted to create, and the core of what this business represented.
I took myself out of the equation and really looked at what inspired me to create this adventure.
I’ll give you an example. When I was doing a training to a group of ticket sellers, I asked them, “What do you do?” They all answered, “We sell tickets.”
I asked the same questions to a few of them and they all responded with similar answers. I gave them a deeper understanding of what they do by explaining the why first.
I said to them, “You sell tickets so people can have a great experience. They want your services so they can have different experiences in whatever city this city is located. You don’t sell tickets. You sell experiences!”
I still remember the look on their faces of surprise. They had never thought about their positions this way.
The responsibility they felt in their position changed in this moment. They connected with their mission and their why.
I will never forget their comments once the training was finished. They felt proud and excited to share this with their family. A great step forward for this organization.
Take the time to do this for your teams. It may not seem like a big deal, but when people connect with their mission and their why, their attitude and their commitment changes as well. These are what I call priceless moments.
For any training needs for your organization, feel free to contact me at nancy@nancyhaines.com.