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April 07, 2005
Vision, Mission... Confusion.
We had a conversation about purpose, vision and mission in a board meeting that I recently attended. These have become rubber words � you can stretch them any way you want and don�t mean very much for many people because they see them all the time on the walls of conference rooms in companies but rarely pay attention to them in terms of providing service to customers or dealing with employees let alone dealing with investors.
On the other hand, I have more and more executives (and friends) who are exploring what they are about and what their purpose in life is. Some others are looking at what to do next in their life, now that they are in mid life. A few others are interested in finding an appropriate career or profession, now that they have decided not to continue with their current profession for whatever reason.
When I talk with them, I tell them that it is difficult to know their purpose but they can create a vision for their life. They can find a mission for their current work/life scenario or for their future. Once they gain clarity on them, they can create goals and identify gaps in their life/work and find ways to bridge their current reality and the desired future state.
I also try to help them think about the words themselves. According to one framework, purpose describes why we exist, mission is the measurable accomplishment that we are going for. Vision is the �mission-accomplished� state. Goals are milestones along the way.
According to another framework, purpose is the seed that gives rise to the tree. This framework does not talk about mission and mentions that the vision is the flowering tree with a lot of fruits or blossoms on it based on what kind of a tree it is.
We do want to find where we are going. More than that, we want to know where we are coming from and why we are here. Only problem is that you have to make up answers for both. There is help available to dig deeper and become more conscious of our own subconscious scripts and our DNA. I will explore this more some other time. If you are interested in discovering your DNA or essence, though, check out the four questions article and let me know what you think.
Share with me your purpose, your mission and your vision� You can also share your journeys along the way and processes you tried to get on the right path.
Posted by pkaipa at April 7, 2005 12:23 PM
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