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A
Vision, the picture of our desired future is left-brain
reasoning. Values, the emotional and moral
aspects are right brain reasoning. Both these rationale link
together to form Mission, the purpose
of existence, says M R Chandramowly.
ITisaSaturdayevening.Youarerelaxed,watchingthehorizon,sittingonyour
balconyswingatyourflat,6thfloor,RoyalCastle.Asyoubringyourfocusfrom
thesettingsun, to themoving trafficon the road in frontof
yourplace,you
noticeasilentfuneralprocession.Youseesomeknownpeopleintheprocession
movingalong.Curious!Yougetupsuddenly,takeyourelevatordown,gooutandjointheprocession.Youfollowthefuneralparlourtofindoutmore.Asyoureach
the crematorium you notice the flowers, fragrance of dhoop, hear
crying family
memberstalksandepitaphoffriendsandyourecognisethevoices.Yousharethe
sorrowandfeelingradiating
fromtheheartsofpeoplearoundthere.Asyougo
nearer to the head of procession and look at the dead body, it
looks very
familiar. You suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is
your own
ceremonial! All your relatives, friends, office colleagues are
there to show their
love,concernandappreciationaboutyou.Youareabletohearthemclearly.Each
oneofthemtalksaboutyou.
Now,imagineyourselfthere.Wouldyouliketohearwhateachpersonsayabout
you? What would you like them to say? What kind of spouse, son,
father,
teacher,student,boss,subordinate,friendandenemyyouhavebeeninyourlife?
Howdidyouplaytheseroles?Canyouhearthemnow?Whataretheysaying?
Listen!.Thatishowyoustartworkingonyourmissionstatement,towritedown
thepurposeofyourexistence!
Ifit'snotwrittenIfit'snotwrittenIfit'snotwrittenIfit'snotwritten----iiiit'snotthere!t'snotthere!t'snotthere!t'snotthere!
Missionismorediscoveredfirstandthencreated.Itclarifiesgoalsforourroles.Differentrolesthatweplayinourlivesmustbeenactedwithabalance.Besides
theroleofSelfweplayotherroles.spouse,father,son,boss,associate,friend
or enemy. However, the principle role self, Converges all the
different role
beamstooneperspective-ourpurpose.
Haveyouwrittenapersonalmissionstatement,whichprovidesmeaning,purpose,
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Purpose and the Pictureublished Articles of Chandramowly
Leadership Competency Series
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anddirectiontoyourliferoles?Doallyouractionsflowfromyourmission?Ifyou
feel likeproceedingfurther toworkonthis. Beginwiththeend inmind
(The
sevenhabitsofhighlyeffectivepeople)byDrStephenRCovey.Onemustknow
whereheisheading.Ifyoudont
knowwhereyouregoing,anypathwillget
youthere.
Mission,visionandvaluesMission,visionandvaluesMission,visionandvaluesMission,visionandvalues
Mission,vision,andvaluesare thegluethatholdsanorganisationora
person
together.Mission is the purpose; the reason for existence,
Vision isthemental
imageofourdestination,andthepictureweplacebeforeustoowntherealone.
Visioniswhatkeepsusmovingforward,evenagainstdiscouragingodds.Itisthe
mostpowerfulmotivator inanorganisation. If
itisvividandmeaningfulenough,
peoplecandoastoundingthingstobringittorealisation.Noamountofexternal
helpwillbeabletogetpeopleofftheirbuttsiftheylackpersonalvision.
Values define the path we prefer to reach our destination and
goals are the
milestonesinthisjourney.Ourachievementandsuccessrestsonunderstandingour
goals.Clarityofourpurposeandvisionimproveslong-termfocusandday-to-day
action consistency. Vision, is our left-brain reasoning. Values,
the emotional and
moralaspectsarerightbrainreasoning.Boththeserationalelinktogethertoform
Mission.Whetherit
isanorganisationorindividual,creatingmission,settingvision
and deciding the values provide a framework for long-term
sustenance and
accomplishmentofchosenobjectives.Oneneedstoplan,priortoproceedfailing
toplanisplanningtofail.
MissionstatementsMissionstatementsMissionstatementsMissionstatements
Missionandvisionstatementsarenotjustcriticalwords.Thespiritbehindthese
wordsareveryspecific,dependsonhoweachorganisationdefinesit.Theprocess
oftranslatingMissionorVisionintheexecutionistosetthedirectionandtransfer
theownershipoftheendresulttothefront-lineemployees.
Missionisabrief,concisestatement,whichdefinesthebusinessyouarein,for
whom,andwhy.Itdefinesuniquecontributionofyourexistence.Agoodmission
statementaddresses
thebiggerpictureofwhathastobeachieved,opportunities
around and inspires commitment in employees who must fit their
abilities to
organisationalneed.Amissionstatementmustanswerfivequestions:(1)Whatis
thatuniquecontributiontothesocietyorprofessionthatwouldnothappenifyou
donotexist?(2)Whoisyourcustomer-towhomdoyoudeliverproductsand
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services?(3)Whataretheinterests/prioritiesofyourcustomers?(4)Whatarethe
boundaries(organisationalorgeographic)withinwhichyouoperate?(5)Howwould
youliketobeseenbyyoucustomers?
Here is an example of mission statement of an organisation: The
mission of
Merck istoprovidesocietywithsuperiorproductsand services,
innovationsand
solutions that improve the qualityof lifeand
satisfycustomerneeds, toprovide
employeeswithmeaningfulworkandadvancementopportunitiesandinvestorswitha
superiorrateofreturn.
Apersonalmissionstatementcapturesyourpurposewhyyouexistreasonfor
being,whatyoudoandwhomyouserveandforwhatpurpose?Ifyouwantto
discoveryourinherentpurpose,thinkofapersonwhomadeapositivedifference
inyourlife.Thisindividualcanbeanyone,aparent,ateacher,ahistoricalfigure,
afriend,aleaderorarelative.Thesepeoplemayormaynotbeawareoftheir
influenceonyou.Whatqualitiesdoesthesepeoplehavewhichyouwouldliketo
develop? The qualities that you admire about these people could
be various
aspectsoftheircharacter.Itiswhatthatdistinguishesthemaswhotheyare.You
have the opportunity to develop your character to be as
admirable, as is the
characterofthepeopleyouadmire.
Ifyouwrite
fewwordsthatdescribeswhatyouadmireaboutthesepeople,you
have identified thewords that arepulsating inyour inner rudder.
If you could
spendaday inagood librarystudying anything youwanted,what
wouldyou
read?That iswhatyou enjoy. Youwould like to live for those
characteristics.
Yourmissionisprobablybeingbuiltaroundthosemotives.Asyouworkthrough
drafting your mission statement, carefully consider your own
character and your
visionforyourlife,andbeginformulatingaplanthatwillstartmovingyouinthe
directionyouwanttogo.
Live, Love and leave a legacy (Stephen Covey). My life is my
message
(Gandhi), are somespecimens
ofagoodpersonalmissionstatement.Theyare
simpleandsignificantinmeaning.
LivLivLivLivingingingingmissionstatementsmissionstatementsmissionstatementsmissionstatementsbybybybybreathbreathbreathbreathingthemingthemingthemingtheminactions.inactions.inactions.inactions.
Puttingpeoplefirst,thoughhasacommercialtone,thereisalsoamoralreason
forBritishAirwaystoindicatethatweareallpeopleandlifewouldbebetterfor
allofusifwetooka
littlemorecareofeachother.Thismoralrationalewas
puthighontheagendawhen35,000BAstaffwentonthePuttingPeopleFirst
trainingprogram.Asenseofmissionisanemotionalcommitment.Workingwitha
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goodorganisationdoesnotguaranteethatemployeeswillhavesenseofmission.
Consider how calls are answered by telephone operators or the
mannerism of
securityguardatcarparkingareaofanorganisation.Thoughanycorporatepolicy
willhavewrittenandclearstrategyandvaluestatements,atelephoneoperatoror
acarparkscout,sometimesmaynotmakeyoufeelthattheyhaveasenseof
mission.Amissionstatementishardlymeaningfulifitisonlyhungoncorporate
wallswithoutgettingdisplayedthroughtheactionsofitsemployees.
ThisleadershipcompetencyManagingMissionandVisionissupportedbyhuman
values like fortitude, perception of ultimate, trust,
understanding, and respect to
individual,non-egoismandnobility.
The author is an HR expert and can be reached at
[email protected]
