Engineer2Entrepreneur

The Five-Step Plan for Creating Personal Mission Statements

Link: The Five-Step Plan for Creating Personal Mission Statements.

Step 1: Identify Past Successes. Spend some time identifying four or five examples where you have had personal success in recent years. These successes could be at work, in your community, at home, etc. Write them down. Try to identify whether there is a common theme -- or themes -- to these examples. Write them down. Step 2: Identify Core Values. Develop a list of attributes that you believe identify who you are and what your priorities are. The list can be as long as you need. Once your list is complete, see if you can narrow your values to five or six most important values. Finally, see if you can choose the one value that is most important to you. Step 3: Identify Contributions. Make a list of the ways you could make a difference. In an ideal situation, how could you contribute best to:' the world in general your family your employer or future employers your friends your community

Step 4: Identify Goals. Spend some time thinking about your priorities
in life and the goals you have for yourself.
Make a list of your personal goals, perhaps in the short-term (up to three years)
and the long-term (beyond three years).
Step 5: Write Mission Statement. Based on the first four steps and a
better understanding of yourself, begin writing your personal mission statement.

I first read about mission statements in 7 Habits and it's good to be reminded about doing things like this, not just for yourself but your business and family as well.

Where is your attention?

Link: Ripples: post-corporate adventures: Instant insight.

Your attention is drawn to what the person is putting their attention on.

People are interested in what other people care about. The current word of the day is Passion. If you are passionate about something then at least a few other people will be interested in what you are doing.

See also, The Amazing Marketing Power Of A 4 Year Old Child

Varifrank: Changing the world - One cable modem at a time.

Link: Varifrank: Changing the world - One cable modem at a time..

Cool ideas.

It's the People, Stupid.

Something that has been bothering me since the Donkey kick story has been the vileness of how companies treat their people.

There are two kinds of people a company has: Internal and external.

Internal people are, generally speaking, your employees. They are your producers. They make the products that your sell.

They need to realize that they are all in sales, they may not see the client very often, but they need to be trained to talk to them. The engineers can't be safe in their cubes being spoon fed by management what the client wants, like a game of telephone. They need to be out there with the customers finding out what the clients problems and pains really are and making that pain go away.

These can even by customer evangelists who are promoting your products even if you don't pay them. These are powerful people get to know them.

External people are your clients. They are your customers who buy your products, your shareholders who buy the money your products bring in, or suppliers you provide you with raw materials. These are the people whose pains you're easing or are easing your pains.

Keeping in close contact with these people is vital. It is far easier to maintain a relationship then it is to start a new one. All it takes is a call or a letter every few weeks to keep the relationships going.

Get feedback and referrals from your clients, it will make your products better and help you sell more to people who you don't know.

They should be better educated from being in contact with you then if they were not. Nothing is worse for a relationship then if the other person feels he knows less after talking with you.

I just had to get all that out.