Mike Clark’s Business Bites: It can be energising to align your personal and business missions

John Key was the state house kid who dreamed of making millions and becoming Prime Minister. He succeeded. Photo / Andrew Warner

OPINION:

Goal-setting is one of the most written-about topics in leadership, management and personal development. So popular is the topic that goal-setting has a multiplicity of tools, illustrations, templates and even acronyms to help people create effective plans.

Jim Collins coined and popularised Big Hairy Audacious Goals; the 4DX methodology came up with Wildly Important Goals. There’s the Business Canvas, Productivity Pyramid and countless others. For me, one of the most influential books in this area is Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage, in which he asks six questions every business needs to answer. The first of which is: “Why do you exist?” This aligns with a business mission statement.

I am reading The Art of the Impossible by Steven Kotler. One thing that stood out for me was his methodology for setting personal goals. He recommends having clear goals that are aligned with high-hard goals that are further aligned with mission-level goals. Do you have a mission for your life? What is your purpose? Are you clear on who you want to be?

Clarity equals action. When you are clear on who you want to be, you can be that person every day in your thoughts, words and actions, and that is who you will become. How will you know your life has been successful? Is it the time you have spent with family and friends and the positive influence you have had upon them?

If so, look back over the past week and month. How much of your time, energy and focus has gone toward this? Our days, lived one after the other, become our lives. Much of our lives consist of the accumulation of the ordinary, routine rhythm of your days. When you have a mission, a calling, a desire that lies beyond yourself, it can steer you through your days.

The tradition is to set personal goals at New Year (with the knowledge that one is unlikely to keep them!). If you’ve never thought of what your life mission is, I encourage you to make some time to explore the topic. People like to follow people who have purpose. People are inspired by someone on a mission. It does not need to be glamorous.

Mother Teresa set up the order of the Missionaries of Charity, the primary task of which was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. It can be a huge goal. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has as one of its key missions the eradication of malaria. When selecting life missions, it is best to limit these to one or two to avoid the dissipation of energy and focus.

If you are in business, it can be incredibly energising to align your personal mission with your business mission. We are blessed to have managed to do this. Our business mission is to help people realise and reach their potential. Remember that energy flows where your focus goes, so focus on what you want more of.

Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.