Here’s a meaningful exercise to do with your board (or managers or customers or employees) to pin down the organization’s mission. Ask individuals to pick THREE descriptor goals for your establishment and to write each adjective on a card. Then ask your team to write a few sentences about each word as it applies to the entity’s vision.
Collect the cards then work together to come up with a succinct mission that PUTS PEOPLE FIRST.
Mine are below. These adjectives apply to every aspect of my existence and what I aim to share with those who enter my presence. I have made the assumption that these desires are universal hence I use the word “we” instead of “I”.
- SAFE – We want to feel safe. In our place of work we want our boss and coworkers to have our back; to be trustworthy and to follow proper protocol to protect us. We’d like to be able to share our ideas without having someone else take credit for them, or to be ridiculed for proposing them. We want to feel valued. We do not want to be harassed by colleagues or those in power. We do not want to be threatened or retaliated against. We want to be believed. We want to be relevant. We want to be respected.
- WELCOME – We want to walk into every door, be it a coffee shop, our home or our office with the feeling that we are welcome in that place. We do not want to feel like we are outsiders…like we’re not in good enough standing to be in your private club. We want to be greeted with a smile and a sincere salutation that includes eye contact. We want to know that we’re in good hands and the greeter is happy to see us and pleased to help us.
- THRIVING – More than existing, we want to flourish. We want our business to prosper and succeed. We’d like to live in a healthy and vigorous way and we want the same for those around us.
#safewelcomingthriving #peoplefirst #caringforcustomersandemployees
A handful of us swimmers used to swim together at a throwback high school pool. It was pretty old with failing lights, a few cracked windows and falling ceiling tiles. Sometimes the heater or filtration system went down. The school’s maintenance crew was stretched thin, so we vacuumed and cared for the pool as best we could.
I believe our success is directly related to our ability to connect with our followers and foster long term relationships. We must ENGAGE with our audience…share our story and hear their story too. To be engaged is to be involved and sincere. It is caring and connecting to the person who walks into your space and being truthful, because trust is essential to those long-term relationships.
The second meaning refers to physical exercise and engaging the deepest layer of muscles that wrap around your mid section, the transverse abdominals. As a fan of Pilates exercise, I can’t help but share a little of my learning with you. The abdominals are called the “core” because they support the center of the body. They make up the “powerhouse”, a term coined by Joseph Pilates, that refers to your torso. Think of a box drawn from shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip.
Dana J Creative 