Why a Mission Statement?
Your Mission Statement declares to the world your life’s work. It gives your practice team the clear direction they need to move in to reach their potential in your practice. It empowers your patients by giving them a clear picture of what they can expect to achieve. Your Mission Statement focuses you on priorities and away from distractions.
You Are Important! Your Mission Statement helps you realize just how important. One single life, one single practice, can affect the lives of many. B.J. Palmer, the forefather of the chiropractic profession, said, “You never know how the small action that you take will affect millions.”
Writing Your Mission Statement
A Mission Statement has three requirements. It should be short. It should be easily understood, even by a twelve-year-old. And you should be able to recite it from memory, even if you are awakened from a sound sleep in the middle of the night.
All great leaders in history have had Mission Statements that were no more than a single sentence long. Abraham Lincoln’s mission was to preserve the Union. Franklin Roosevelt’s was to end the Depression. Nelson Mandela’s was to end apartheid. Mother Teresa’s was to show mercy and compassion to the dying. The greater the Mission, the more simply it can be stated.
Sample Mission Statements:
- Our business is renting cars. Our mission is total customer satisfaction. – Avis
- To be the world’s best in chemicals and electronic imaging. – Eastman Kodak
- To improve the quality of human life; to enhance self-reliance and concern for others; and to help people avoid, prepare for and cope with emergencies. – American Red Cross
- Fight or Die. – The French Foreign Legion
Life Picks up Speed
If they could live their lives over again, most seniors say they would have taken more risks. Aliveness comes with learning, growing, stretching, and exploring. Take more chances to express your creative side. Wayne Dyer reminds us, “Don’t die with your music still in you!” Fulfillment comes from doing something that contributes to the life and adding value to life beyond yourself. Fulfillment comes from the integrity of being who you are and expressing that as fully as possible.
