Complete a personal mission statement and internal analysis for yourself. Many of the principles of successful business can be used in your own personal life. This personal mission statement assignment uses the concepts of several units to help you write your own personal mission statement and to develop a strategy on improving your personal life and business career. The format or length of the assignment is not important because this is exploratory and personal. It does help, though, if you label sections of the paper using the headings below. Only you and I will read the assignment.
- Personal Mission Statement.Write a personal mission statement about yourself. Use the same guidelines that a business would use: what is your purpose for being, who are important stakeholders in your life, etc.? Don't limit yourself to your business career. A personal mission statement should cover all aspects of your life. This can be a difficult task so let me offer a suggestion that might help. Write your own eulogy. Assume you will live to be 85. What do hope they will say about you when you are gone? Do not include the eulogy as part of the paper. It is just a tool to help you think. Look carefully at what you have written. Does it include those values that you hold dear? Does it identify stakeholders that you consider most important? Does it describe your purpose in life?
Here is an example of what a personal mission statement might look like:
My mission is to improve the lives of other people starting with my family as my primary focus and then extending out to everyone I meet. I will teach my children to have good values. I will strive to be honest, open, and to provide positive support and encouragement. In all things, I will act with integrity.
- Internal Analysis.Do a strengths-and-weakness analysis on yourself. Make a bullet list of your strengths and weaknesses. Be honest, but don't be overly critical.
- Goal Setting.Take a long look at your mission and your strengths and weaknesses. What strengths do you have that you can capitalize on? Do you currently have all the strengths needed to fulfill your mission statement? Are there weaknesses that might derail you? Set goals that will help you achieve your mission. The goals should include at least one that shows how you will capitalize on a current strength and one weakness on which you need to improve.
- Objectives.Pick one or two goals that you have made and identify objectives that will help you accomplish the goal. Remember that objectives need to follow the SMART criteria. Identify how you will measure your progress and when you will have completed the objective.