I’m looking at stick-like drawings of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and a Pyramid as a demonstration of the difference that laying a good foundation can make over time.
And so begins my first session with Dan Walker of River’s End Consulting.
Our initial focus is to understand how my business supports my personal goals and to determine whether it functions to give me personal satisfaction.
Simultaneously, we are laying my foundation by evaluating what is most important to me through the creation of a personal, and eventually business, mission statement that reflects who I am and what values I choose to live by. Dan explains this exercise will help maintain focus on my priorities when faced with decisions in the future.
The process creates time to evaluate, which naturally slows down my internal knowledge and allows me to question existing fundamentals. There isn’t anything I enjoy more than analyzing thoughts and behaviors, as demonstrated by my graduate education.
Dan says something to me that resonates deeply, “You enjoy solving problems, don’t you?” My initial reaction is to say, “No, I don’t like drama.” Then I add a disclaimer, “It depends on the situation.”
Days later I realize how accurate he is. I’ve never considered myself a “salesperson” and yet I have had great sales success in the past. Then it hits me. My sales success came, not because I was trying to sell something to make a buck, but rather because I truly believed that particular product or service would solve a problem for my client. I do get excited by evaluating situations in order to find ways to enhance personal lives and solve business problems.
Kudos to Dan, it’s not often people are able to quickly see what I haven’t already analyzed.
Between sessions, my homework is to continue to hash out the wording of my personal mission statement.
Has anyone created a personal mission statement they’d like to share?
