Set the foundation for success

“The best teams I’ve encountered have one important thing in common: their team structure and processes cover a full range of distinct competencies necessary for success.” ~~Jesse James Garrett

There is a vast difference between self-employment and business and one of the most comprehensive explanations is the B-I (Business-Investor) Triangle from Robert Kiyosaki.  Here is the illustration.

The foundation of business success is a clearly defined mission and we will consider this as the first post of 2012.

Clearly defining your business’ mission statement provides focus and serves as the guiding framework for all the decisions that follow.

There are two main components to a mission statement.  One is more esoteric and the other more practical.  You can think of the first component as spiritual or philosophical.  It is usually unattainable…more of an ideal.  The second part is measurable and specific.  Naturally, both elements are complementary and work in harmony.

The philosophical mission for the company is where the organization focuses on what life-enhancing value can be brought to the marketplace. Henry Ford’s original mission for the Ford Motor Company was simply, “to democratize the automobile,” implying his wish to make automobiles affordable to the masses rather than just the wealthy few.

This was revolutionary in its day.  Many of Ford’s brick-and-mortar decisions were just as revolutionary partly because they emanated from this guiding philosophy.

The concrete mission is more tangible in nature and usually resembles to be the largest player in this space, or to realize revenues of x, or to provide services to x many customers, and so on.

Together, these concepts are foundational and serve as the basis of your business plan.

Your action this week is to get a three-ring binder and list eight tabs that correspond to the topics we will soon cover.  Specifically these are:

• Mission
• Team
• Leadership
• Cashflow
• Communication
• System
• Legal
• Product

Populate the Mission section with your philosophical mission and tangible mission.  The tangible mission should include timeframes such as the next ninety days, the next year, the next three years, and the next five years.

© 2012 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
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