A manual for a committed life
“A written statement of purpose and behavioral boundaries worthy of a life's pursuit.” That is what Daniels means by a mission statement. Do you have one?
from drifting to direction, in seven working chapters
Thirty five years in business across many countries taught Peter J. Daniels one dividing line: serious, thinking people run on a mission statement, and everyone else drifts. This is his complete manual for writing yours, personal and corporate, with a no let out clause for accountability built in.
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Chapter one names the alternative
Daniels has watched it on every continent: people who drift through life hoping some outside force will make things better, easier, more fulfilling. His description of where that road ends is the most sobering paragraph in the book:
They arrive at middle life or old age full of excuses, disappointments, frustrations, and bitterness; often they blame others and expect someone miraculously to recognize the true value of their existence, even though their personal contribution was only survival. Peter J. Daniels, chapter one
The manual exists to make that ending impossible for you. Even if all you want is to be left alone to do your own thing, his answer is a resounding yes, you still need one, because a mission statement gives you security, a standard to measure a changing world against, and something solid to fall back on in crisis: the realities of who you are and what you stand for.
Before you write a word
It exhibits the character of an organization or a person, visibly, in conduct.
Not just what you chase but how you chase it, defined before the chase begins.
The atmosphere and moral base an organization or person operates from.
The seven working chapters
The case, the definitions, and why even the independent spirit needs one.
It opens with two words that decide everything else: who are you?
Mission, vision, goals, values: untangled, then fuelled by vision, commitment and energy.
The working session begins: describe yourself, honestly, on paper.
The finale for individuals: every facet assembled into a specific, practical, durable document.
A corporation faces a different scrutiny, with dependence on the team rather than the individual.
Five easy ways to monitor and measure whether the document is still alive and still working.
“You can correct something, but you cannot correct nothing.”Peter J. Daniels, on why a written mission beats good intentions
Proven where the stakes are highest
Daniels writes that in some organizations he serves around the world, the mission statement is read aloud at board meetings to remind everyone present of the clear boundaries of operation. It removes fuzzy thinking and keeps decisions from drifting off track, and this book teaches the same discipline at every scale.
In his closing thoughts Daniels notes his belief that this may be the first attempt in business literature to come to grips with the knotty ramifications of a mission statement, written for the CEO and the individual alike, each chapter serving both.
Read it tonight, draft it this week
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How to Create Your Own Dynamic Mission Statement That Works
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Before you ask
One last word
That is the question Daniels leaves ringing at the end of the manual, the one every destination forces you to answer. A written mission answers it before it is asked. Draft yours this week, with the man who helped write them into boardrooms across the world. Bon voyage.
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