Wk 2 Assignment 4
Personal Mission Statement
1. As an individual, why are you here.
My overriding ambition is to build a great company that I can be proud. I want to build a company that will provide for me and my wife into the future (retirement).
Why am I here? A few months ago, I decided I’d had enough! I had a family bereavement and I started asking myself why I was working, who was I doing it for, what did I want to achieve! I’d spent the previous 10 years living life in the fast lane in complete stress and suddenly I found myself with zero interest and zero energy. Looking forward, I had no intention of spending the next 10 years doing the same thing. My options were simply to close down, sell up and do nothing (buy a beach hut in Tahiti!) Or radically change the way the company worked and start enjoying my work again.
For the past twenty years or so, I’ve struggled with my management style. Looking back, I can see that I’ve favoured many of the Self Managed practices, but I’ve never managed to connect the dots. Every time I had one of those great ideas, someone would throw up a problem and knock me back.
A couple of years ago I was having a casual conversation with business consultant, she suggested I read Maverick as she felt this was where I was heading. After finishing Maverick I quickly consumed Seven Day Weekend, followed by more and more articles, videos, etc. Now I knew what our business needed to look like in the future. I continued to research and read, but I still did not have enough knowledge or confidence to take the massive leap of faith that’s required. Every time I mentioned my radical ideas, or introduced something into the workplace something didn’t fit, therefore my plan to implement receded.
I’m on this course because I want to learn more about the process, I want to learn about tools and techniques that will allow me to make it a success! I want to develop a network of fellow Self-Management fanatics around the world in the hope that I can continue to bounce ideas off people who think like me.
2. What does a great experience look like for me as a participant?
Connecting the dots! I feel I need a greater understanding of “what to do, and what to do next”. I fully understand the theory, I fully understand the benefits, but I’ve been struggling with the “how”.
Hearing the live Case Studies from people who are making this work has also been a great experience. Hearing how they’ve implemented the work we’ve been doing in the assignments into their businesses has been fantastic.
3. How does my participation support the mission of this project?
By achieving a greater understanding and knowledge of the “how” I feel I will be in a very strong position to implement these practices and be successful. I know I need to drive this, and I know failure is not an option!
4. What support do I need to ensure I achieve my personal participation mission?
Ultimately I need the support and trust of the people who work in our company. Unfortunately too many of them are suspicious of my intensions, or resistant because they simply don’t want to change. I know I need to convince and win a bit more trust.
In the future, after the course it would great if participants and coaches stay in touch to offer support, share knowledge and advice.
