Mission Critical

The mission of your business is not what you think. It’s not that thing you hang on the wall or the thing that everyone tries to attain in your company. It’s not a virtue or a set of operating principles.

Nope, that’s not the mission at all. In fact, nothing could be more detrimental to your company than to reduce a mission to a written contract of a set of company behaviors.

The mission is something much greater than that. Rather than your virtues and the way you operate – the mission has all its power when it is designed around this principle:

“The EXPERIENCE you leave people with.”

Sorry to be blunt but, nobody really cares how you operate or what makes your product or services work.

In order to succeed in business, you have to be fully immersed in your client’s world. You have to think, talk, and act from THEIR VANTAGE POINT. You have to deliver products and services to their needs and desires. Clients want to be left with an “experience” of your product or service.

You don’t sell a product or service, you sell a transformation and/or and experience.  Your job is to design a mission such that you have a super exciting future to live into. You’re going to build it, so you have to LOVE IT!

For example, Disney’s mission is “we make people happy.” And they do indeed. From every piece of marketing material, video, the park, the rides, the restaurants, and the team at Disney – all “make people happy.” Making people happy doesn’t just happen by accident. It’s designed into the architecture of the company.

At Disney, when hiring – if that person doesn’t have the ability to “make people happy,” then there’s not a chance that they will be hired. Every single intricate detail of the company is specifically designed around the mission – of making people happy. They even have a Disney school that teaches and delivers the mission.

What’s Your Mission?

Is it clearly defined?
What experience do you leave your clients with?
Is it the same experience every time…..for your client and is architected into everything you do?
What’s the transformation you provide. Explain it in feelings, emotions, and energy rather than describing tangible products or describing processes.

The mission is critical. It decides EVERYTHING you do, from the product choices you offer to the suite of services you provide. The mission is designed into the fabric of your company. It is the foundation of your company culture. Everyone lives and breathes the mission each day. It’s top of mind for every growth choice, hiring choice, and expansion choice. Without it, we flounder.

How Do You Choose Your Mission?

As the publisher of The OGM for the last 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of growing a magazine from a 20-page flyer to now a world-class multimedia energy platform. Our mission, while we never advertised it or even spoke about it outside the company was to deliver “THE WOW FACTOR.” So the wow factor became our operating stance. We leave people with “the experience of the wow factor.” You can see it in our products, our articles, our companies, and our global circulation. It’s weaved into every conversation, meeting, event, and strategy we have.

So choosing your mission takes some time. It means having a clear vision for your business and knowing in your heart and soul what experience you want to leave people with.

Take time to have a team meeting. Discuss your mission. Keep it private and let it ooze into everything you think, say, do, and touch. In very short order, you will transform your company into an “experience” making machine. Your mission will be delivered, and you will achieve your goals and objectives much faster. That’s a promise!

I have a coaching and training business – this business has a mission to leave people with the experience that they “GOT IT.” It’s full of insight, aha moments, and clarity that when people “get it,” it advances them to success. Much like the mission of the article you are reading right now. It’s the mission that makes it what it is. An article that becomes an experience for you. At the end of this article, you will go, “Oh right, that makes so much sense, “GOT IT”!

What’s your mission? Let’s go there!!!

To embark on exciting new discovery classes or coaching sessions that define your mission please contact: TinaOlivero@theogm.com