One of my favorite quotes is this Japanese Proverb:
Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare.
You can have a phenomenal vision, but if you don’t take action, it’s just a daydream. This is where your phenomenal mission comes in. The mission is how you will get where you are going (GPS). The mission was covered in a previous chapter, but remember the mission is what your team does every day. Unfortunately, most small business owners live in the second part of this proverb. “Action without vision.” When there is no vision and no mission, you are subject to whatever is happening in the news. And that, my friend, is a nightmare!
Be sure to go back to the chapter on building systems in your business and make sure you have established your phenomenal mission. The mission is the strategy to reach the vision. It’s the one thing that we know if we accomplish it, the vision will come. They are connected. In fact, your mission guides your every decision. If your mission is to provide the most phenomenal service experience ever, you have to decide who wants that. Not everyone does. Some people just want a low price. That determines what kind of marketing you do. The mission determines what your dress code is, what kind of materials you have, and what the decor in your office is.
The mission establishes your desired culture. Your values shape your desired culture. Actually fulfilling the mission means you are living out those values that establishes your desired culture. When everyone is fulfilling the mission, the values are being lived out and the vision is being reached.
Let me say that as a leader, you’ve got to live out the mission yourself if you expect others to do the same. You must be so passionate about the mission that it practically oozes out of you. Are you that passionate about the mission? Or do you find yourself focusing more on the activities in front of you?
Whatever you focus on is what your team will focus on. They see what you do as most important. They see your true values being lived out. Or worse, if you aren’t connecting with them at all, they’ll focus on whatever’s happening around the water cooler. As the leader, you must determine what the mission is, why it is important, and communicate it to your team.
A phenomenal mission adds value to your team because they get to go out and do something important. Most people who go to work don’t have any passion for what they do. That is death to a company. Breathe life into your company by adding a phenomenal, passionate mission onto your inspiring, compelling vision.
