It’s the stressed-out manager who proclaims they’ve “had it” and books the next flight to Cancun. 

The start-up co-founder working 130 hour weeks who claims he “can’t take all this bullsh*t anymore” and goes on a week-long bender in Miami. 

The boss who yells with such intensity you fear he might have a heart attack. 

It is so common that everyone in any career – engineers, sales managers, tech support personnel, etc. – is susceptible to burnout. Despite being so common, many managers aren’t aware of why burnout happens or how to keep it from happening. But they need to know. 

Being able to understand burnout, its causes, and how to prevent it is essential in order to maintain a positive environment and keep the best talent on the team.

Burnout Defined

Burnout is an individual’s response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors within the workplace (Maslach et al., 2001).

It doesn’t simply result from working too many hours in a high-demand environment. Rather, it is a multidimensional response with many complex causes. 

Below is information compiled from Maslach and colleagues (2001) on the three dimensions of burnout, its causes, and how to prevent it.

How to Know if an Employee is Burned Out:

1. Exhaustion results from the depletion of emotional resources to cope with the current work environment. This is the stressed out, overwhelmed employee.
2. Cynicism is an individual’s distant attitude toward the job. This is the disgruntled employee.
3. Inefficacy is a reduction in personal accomplishment. This is the stressed out employee who has developed a cynical attitude and has given up trying.

Causes of Burnout

Below is a list of common things that cause workplace burnout:

Work-Related Factors

Job Demands – overwhelming job demands (aka overload). We all know the team member with a stack of papers on their desk, a to-do list that spans two pages, and a panicked look on their face.

Role Conflict – conflicting job demands. This is the start-up co-founder who is texting his engineering team under the table while at a meeting with VCs.

Role Ambiguity – a lack of adequate information to do the job well. Time to re-think your “VP of Disruption,” “culture leader,” and “anything ninja” job postings.

Lack of Appropriate Resources – improper training and/or inadequate resources to execute the job effectively. This is the new engineer told to “go for it” with a Dell from 1995.

Lack of Social Support – lack of social support from supervisors has more of an effect on burnout than lack of social support from co-workers. Ignore and ostracize your employees if you want them to quit.

Lack of Feedback – related to all three dimensions of burnout. Feedback is like hard work; if you don’t give it, you’ll never get exactly what you want.

Little Participation in Decision Making – the less involved employees are in decision making processes, the higher the rates of burnout. Time to delegate the choosing of which donuts to buy on Monday morning.

Personality Factors

Low Levels of Hardiness (a sense of control over events and openness to change) are associated with higher burnout scores. This is the co-worker who thinks everything is out of his hands.

Burnout is higher among individuals who have an external locus of control (attributing events and achievements to external events, other people, or to chance). This is the head of marketing who credits the success of the new campaign to luck.

Burned-out individuals cope with stressful events in a passive, defensive way. This is the stressed out employee who has given up.

Person x Context Factors

Workload Mismatch – overloaded with work or performing the wrong kind of work. An example of this is the engineer who is transferred to the marketing team and feels useless and unhappy.

Mismatch in Control – insufficient control over the resources needed to do their work effectively or insufficient authority to pursue their work in the most effective manner. This is an individual working for a non-profit who lacks the funds necessary to execute her strategy.

Lack of Appropriate Awards – is associated with burnout:

1. Insufficient financial rewards – not receiving salary or benefits commensurate with achievements.
2. Lack of social rewards – when hard work is ignored and not appreciated by others.
3. Lack of intrinsic rewards – lacking pride in doing something important and doing it well.

We all know the hard-working, underappreciated employee who quit after receiving news that he will be denied a raise (again) due to budget cuts.

Loss of a Positive Connection with Others – feeling ostracized and/or not sharing similar values with the group. We all know the employee that has gone rogue is usually burned out.

Unfairness – unequal workload or pay, cheating, and/or evaluations or promotions that are handled inappropriately. This is the frustration that results in the workplace when the super-friendly but under-qualified staffer is promoted by her buddy, the boss.

Conflict between values – doing something unethical or not in accordance with their own values. This is the jaded young attorney who quits his job at a cut throat firm to “fight the good fight” as a public defender.

Burnout is an individual experience that is influenced by social, organizational, personality factors, and/or an interaction among all three. The relationship of the individual with their work can be disrupted by any one, or a combination of, these factors resulting in burnout.

Effects of Burnout in the Workplace

Burnout not only affects the employee’s performance, but impacts the performance of the team and work environment. Below are 7 effects of burnout in the workplace (Maslach et al., 2001):

1. Job withdrawal: Intention to leave the job, Absenteeism, Turnover
2. Lower productivity
3. Ineffectiveness
4. Decreased job satisfaction
5. Reduced commitment to the job and/or organization
6. Greater personal conflict with colleagues
7. Disrupts coworkers’ job tasks

Creating a work environment that prevents burnout and is conducive to productivity, employee engagement, and overall satisfaction is critical to having an amazing team.

How to Prevent Burnout in the Workplace

No manager, co-founder, or CEO wants to lose their best talent to burnout. However, most don’t know that their employee is burned out until it is too late. 

Below are 30 ways to prevent burnout in your company. They have been compiled from the leading researcher in the field of burnout (Maslach, 2001) and supported by interviews with corporate CEOs and lessons I have learned from co-founding a startup.

1. Be Realistic When Assigning Tasks. Delegate an amount of work that is challenging, but not overwhelming.

2. Follow the Passion. Ensure that each member of your team is in the position they feel most passionate about. Create new positions or be willing to move skilled employees to different positions if they feel more passionate about them.

3. Allow Side Projects. Allow your employees to spend some time working on a work-related side project that they feel passionate about. Some of Google’s most innovative ideas came from an employee’s side project.

4. Keep Reasonable Work Hours. While developing Macintosh, Steve Job made “working 90 hours a week and loving it” t-shirts. Employees differ on how many hours they can work. Some will devote 120 hours a week and love it. Others will try to get out of working a full 40. Don’t ask too much of your employees. Allow for sick days, paid time off, and vacation days.

5. Schedule Breaks. Allow and encourage your employees to have a full one hour lunch as well as 15 minute breaks throughout the day. They should use the time to take a walk, socialize, make personal phone calls, or stretch.

6. Grant Each Employee One “Must Have.” When Marissa Mayer suspects an employee might burn out, she allows them time off if they need to be “home for Tuesday night dinners,” or on time for their daughter’s soccer games.

7. Be Flexible. When a deadline or goal is unrealistic, change it so it is attainable. If someone who is assigned a task isn’t the right person for the job, re-assign it.

8. Don’t Spread Your Team Too Thin. Reduce the number of parallel tasks that an individual or team is working on. Ensure that they are not overwhelmed with their to-do list.

9. Define Concrete Roles. Ensure that each team member has a specific job description, understands their role, and is aware of their expected contribution to the company.

10. Equip Your Team With Proper Tools. Set your employees up for success with the right tools to execute flawlessly.

11. Provide Adequate Resources. Ensure that there are sufficient funds to execute strategies effectively.

12. Train Your Team Well. Ensure that they know their job and they know it well.

13. Provide Ample Support. Managers should spend time listening to and addressing employees’ concerns.

14. Create a Supportive Culture. Make sure that being supportive is a company value. Model supportive behavior and reward employees who exemplify your supportive culture.

15. Encourage Socializing. A moderate amount of socialization is optimal for team bonding to occur. Allow for employees to freely socialize on breaks, at lunch, or after work. At Talkdesk, we have a channel on HipChat dedicated to posting funny content. A little laugh goes a long way.

16. Give Them a Treat. Surprise your team with a treat you know they will love after a tough week or meeting a stressful goal. Mix it up with food, gift certificates, allowing them to leave early, or having a party at work.

17. Stock Your Kitchen Well. Take a lesson from the Google playbook and make your workplace feel a little like home. Make sure that your team is well fed and revved up!

18. Be Hands On. Spend time getting to know each employee on a personal level. Take them out to lunch individually and talk about non-business related topics.

19. A Team That Plays Together Stays Together. Build team morale, inclusiveness, and job satisfaction by scheduling company activities like snowboarding, go-kart racing, laser tag, or kickball. Be creative and make it fun!

20. Don’t Tolerate Cattiness. Address any behavior that is not in line with the company value of supportiveness immediately.

21. Be Fair. Always make sure that decisions are fair and ethical. Never ask an employee to complete a task that may challenge their values or elicit ethical concerns.

22. Provide Ample Feedback. Employees must know when they have hit a grand slam and when they struck out. Take time to meet with each employee to provide direct feedback.

23. Acknowledge, Reward, and Promote. Each employee’s contribution to the company should be acknowledged. Reward excellent performances with bonuses, awards, and/or promotions.

24. Allow Each Employee to Make Company Decisions. Make each employee a master of a certain domain and allow them to make decisions that affect the company.

25. Make Their Voice Heard. When an employee expresses frustration or concern, address it immediately. Make sure that they know you are taking appropriate action or give an explanation as to why you can’t meet their needs.

26. Educate Employees on Burnout. Provide information about burnout and how employees can prevent it. Hold a seminar where employees can ask relevant questions about burnout. Consider asking a mental health professional to mediate the discussion.

27. Increase Coping Skills. Help employees increase their ability to handle and prevent stress. Hire a professional to teach coping skills and relaxation techniques.

28. Allow for Paid “Mental Health Days.” This is time that employees can choose to spend doing something that makes them happy. A little paid time off will go a long way.

29. Make Every Employee Responsible for Preventing Burnout. Have a “when you see something, say something” policy. Encourage employees to alert a manager when they suspect a co-worker might be burning out.

30. Create a Fun Environment. Any workplace where an employee is excited to come to work will help reduce burnout. Buy Nerf guns, foosball tables, mini-helicopters, dart boards, and ping pong tables. Encourage good times, laughs, and a super-fun environment.

Burnout is a common phenomenon that no one is immune to. It is important to structure your work environment so that every employee feels happy and motivated and has the tools and support they need to succeed. Because the last thing you want is the stressed out, disgruntled employee stealing the company credit card and going on a binge in Vegas.

Works cited: Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W.B. and Leiter, M.P. (2001), “Job burnout,” Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 52 No. 1, pp. 397-422.

About the Author: Tiago Paiva is the CEO and Co-Founder of Talkdesk, a call center software for SMBs. Tiago is also interested in writing additional guest blog posts. Contact him at tiago@talkdesk.com if you are interested or you can follow him @Talkdesk

Article by Neil Patel – <https://neilpatel.com/blog/prevent-employee-burnout/> Accessed 11th Oct 2019

Everyone has a different goal system that works for them. Personally, I’ve found that using a quarterly goal system works best (and I’ve tried a lot!). Quarterly goal periods- 3 months at a time- allow habits to truly build and substantial achievements to be made. But, 3 months isn’t so long that I lose motivation. Businesses track their goals quarterly, why should personal goals be treated any different?

With October right around the corner, I’m going through my final goals of 2016 (!! time really does fly!). Here’s why I encourage a quarterly personal goal system and the exact system I use to achieve my goals.

Why use a quarterly goal system?

It’s not too short

The goals you can achieve and the habits you can build in 3 months are meaningful. The truth about weekly and monthly goals is that though you may achieve them for a week or a month, that’s still a short time frame to make a permanent change. You can reach a goal in 30 days, but that can often not be a good enough sample for how you can make that change last.

It’s not too long

Annual goals (New Year’s resolutions) are easy to lose focus on and can become irrelevant. Particularly as millennials, a lot can change in a year and goals can (and should!) shift to conform with what’s best for you. Annual goals are exciting to make because you have an entire year to achieve them. Your goals can be huge! But, it can be difficult to take that goal in bite sized pieces and figure out how to really achieve it.

It’s in sync with seasons

The fun part about using a quarterly goal system is that your goal reflection and creation is done in sync with new seasons. There’s nothing like a change in the weather to inspire you. If you live in a part of the world with 4 noticeably different seasons, recharging your goals in tandem with those seasons gives you a true feeling of new beginnings.

What sorts of goals work best with this?

All goals! How many goals you can handle will depend on how much of a commitment or sacrifice those goals are. It’s important not to overload yourself with goals. I have found that the most beneficial part of this goal system is that it allows you to really focus on a couple goals and habits for just a few months. Focusing on a couple closely makes it much more likely you’ll achieve your goals than trying to complete multiple transformations simultaneously. But, that’s still enough time to build upon even difficult habits to form.

Each quarter, I usually set 6 goals. I set a goal to achieve and a habit to form in these three categories:

• Personal
• Financial
• Professional (if you’re in college, substitute this with academic)

A goal to achieveis usually something I want to get done within that specific quarter, but don’t feel the need to carry on forever. In other words, it’s a one-time goal. It has a specific outcome in mind that I can reach within 3 months.

A habit to form is something I want to focus on doing weekly or even daily during those three months to the point where it’s part of my routine. In contrast to a goal, it’s something I want to continually carry on.

Some examples…

Personal Goals

• Build a personal website this quarter
• Lead a volunteer project

Personal Habits

• Stretch for 20 minutes every day
• Practice a language 3 hours per week

Financial Goals

• Save $2,000 this quarter to invest
• Pay off a given credit card this quarter

Financial Habits

• Only eat out for one meal a day
• Walk or bike to work 2 times a week

Professional Goals

• Break my personal sales record this quarter
• Update my LinkedIn and social media presence (more on that here)

Professional Habits

• Get to work on time every single day this quarter
• Get my inbox to zero once a week

Goal Breakdown

How I keep track of my goals is perhaps the most important element in ensuring that I achieve them. I’ve tried many systems to see what works best. I love to-do lists and bullet journals, but in writing them, I find that I end up spending more time organizing my tasks than completing them. I can’t write down my habit every single day on my to-do list! But, I need to record my progress. If I don’t have the satisfaction of feeling like I’m working toward my goal every day, it’s not as motivating.

Quarterly goal planning date

Four times a year, prior to every new quarter, I plan out my next quarter. I don’t treat it like a chore, but I also don’t treat it like an optional date. Rather, I treat it like a business lunch where I wine and dine myself with my laptop at a nice restaurant. I look forward to it every quarter! At my business lunch (with myself), I complete the following guide and spreadsheet. Once I’m done, I don’t have to do much else in the next quarter to track my goals and can solely focus on goal execution. No daily to-do lists, weekly check-ins, bullet journals, or daily alerts. This is much more efficient#win.

My quarterly goal workbook

First, I begin with my quarterly goal workbook. In this, I identify what my 6 goals are and specifically what I need to get done to achieve them. Whether that’s practicing something every day, working overtime, or a variety of tasks, I find that identifying the exact building blocks helps me understand where to go next.

Tracking Spreadsheets

Once I have my goals outlined and tasks assigned to each, I enter them in my tracking spreadsheet. To keep track of the progress of my goals throughout the quarter, I use two spreadsheet templates. One is for my goals, the other is for my habits. Each goal has its own tab, like this:

Goal spreadsheet

In my workbook above, I’ve already outlined the specific tasks I need to complete to accomplish the goal. So, I just plug those tasks into my spreadsheet and check them off “Yes” as I go. I even have a bar in the top right next to the goal that tracks what percentage of the way I am done thanks to my fancy excel formula. I love how motivated it keeps me!

My spreadsheet has 12 tasks. This can be one for each week of the quarter, or simply 12 in general (like below). Get yours below with the formula all set in. All you need to do is enter your tasks and push “yes”!

Habits Spreadsheet

This one was really the game changer for me. Habits are something that you need to basically work on every day to really build properly. It can be hard to hold yourself accountable for a task every single day. Plus, if you’re quite to-do list oriented like I am, you best accomplish things when crossing them off that list. But you don’t want to put your small daily habits on your to-do list every day. Who has time for that?!

Enter this spreadsheet. It has a calendar for the quarter that tracks your habit building. Simply enter your target habit, and then each day you perform that habit, put an “X” on your spreadsheet. That’s it! My favorite part is that each day when I do that habit, I can see that I’m getting closer to reaching my goals.

I love this because it reminds me that each little step is a step forward. That’s what goals are all about! Get yours below with the formula all set in. All you need to do is enter your daily “x” for completion!

Calendar Reminder

Lastly, go ahead and put a couple reminders in your calendar. If you feel that you want to be reminded weekly to check in and see how you’re doing, go ahead. But, with this spreadsheet system, I don’t usually find I need those reminders. Instead, I set two reminders:

• Half way point (six weeks) to make sure I’m on track; and
• Two weeks prior to the end of the quarter so I can schedule a lunch date to review my prior goals and review the upcoming quarter.

This may seem like a decent amount of work, but it’s all upfront work. Once it’s done, my goal systems are in place, and I don’t have to remake to-do lists daily to make sure my goals are getting done.

Are you ready to start cranking out your goals? Get everything I use for mine when you sign up below. You’ll get my workbook and my spreadsheet with the formulas all filled in. All you need to do is decide your goals, and the materials will keep you accountable! You deserve to let the superstar in you shine.

Article by Leah Gervais of Urban20Somethinng - Link - https://www.urban20something.com/goal-system/

Regrettably, the ‘agreement’ role of the SLA is lost in many organisations, where SLA’s are used as ‘weapons’ to defend or challenge the provider or customer. The emphasis for SLAs must be on agreement, and the SLA should not be used to hold either side to ransom. A true partnership should be developed between the IT service provider and the customer, enabling a collaborative approach to quality improvement.

Metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are a core element of an SLA. Ineffective or absent KPI can cause a service to fall into disrepute and a blame culture can develop. KPI for the service must accurately reflect the expectations and perceptions of both the customer and service provider.

To manage service provision, we need:

• Service metrics which reflect the end-to-end quality of service or ‘user experience’
• Process metrics to inform the service provider and customer of the effectiveness (achieving goals) and efficiency (use of resources) of key activities within the service delivery function.
• Technology metrics to inform the IT provider at the component level, enabling the identification of issues and improvement opportunities

The Two SLAs

Customer-based SLA: An agreement signed with an individual customer or a group of customers, specifically designed to cover the services that group uses. You can have one of these, for instance, between a hosting provider and the finance department of a large company to cover things like the finance systems, the payroll systems, the billing systems, the procurement/purchase systems, etc.

Service-based SLA: One of the most used types of SLAs, it implies the same standard agreement for all the customers using the services that are offered by the service provider. Take, for example, an e-mail system for all of the companies. The SLA would cover the whole service provided.

When considering SLA KPI we must recognise that Customer perceptions are influenced by:

• Attributes of service that are indicators of value e.g. relative performance, reliability or security of a remote workspace service
• Present or prior experience of similar attributes
• Relative endowment of competitors and other peers i.e. what they have
• Customers self image or actual position in market (innovator, market leader, risk taker) i.e. do I expect leading edge solutions or accept / expect robust security requirements to access the service

When considering KPI from an IT perspective, we need to recognise that the customer is not excessively concerned with how the provider delivers the service and, as such, is NOT interested in visibility of the majority of KPI which the IT provider uses to manage the service e.g. component performance. On this basis, component and process KPI should not be included in the SLA. They are primarily articulated in Operational Level Agreements and Underpinning Contracts which underpin the SLA. Obviously, certain process KPI will overlap with customer expectations for the service e.g. “95% of incident which impacts more than 50 people in the organisation will be resolved within 4 hours” – customer expectation and Incident Management effectiveness KPI.

We also needs to consider the inclusion of Objective KPI (number of major incidents in a month) and Subjective KPI (Improvements in customer satisfaction).

Finally, we need to consider any scope or constraint measurements that may be required to provide context for current service levels. For example, incident resolution targets or service performance targets may be defined in the context of the number of user of the services (up to 500 concurrent users). In this case, we need to have visibility of the number of concurrent users at any time. It’s a possible discussion for another day but it is imperative that we always consider how we are going to measure each aspect of the service, before including it in the SLA. The mechanism, source and frequency of data collection, processing, analysis and reporting should be mutually agreed between the customer and IT service provider.

So, in summary:

You cannot have an SLA without measurements (KPI)

When selecting KPI, ask, what indicates value to the customer?

• Enhanced performance in the business
• Constraints removed from the business
• Availability & Reliability of the Service
• Performance of the service o Security of the service o Service Continuity (ability to recover from disaster)

Do not include IT ‘management’ KPI i.e. component & process metrics only used by IT. 

• Consider “How and how often, can I measure that?”
• Consider Objectives and Subjective metrics

Remember scope measures that may be required for context.

Above all else, do not forget the #1 rule – Nothing should be included in an SLA unless it can be effectively monitored and measured at commonly agreed points.

Source: Bill Heffernan of SureSkills <https://www.gsx.com/blog/bid/43737/the-challenges-of-managing-sla-s-service-level-agreements> Accessed 12th Feb 2019
Note: the article has been edited to meet our requirements.

Both people and organizations need to establish a strategic framework for significant success. This framework consists of:

• A vision for your future
• A mission that defines what you are doing
• Values that shape your actions
• Strategies that zero in on your key success approaches
• Goals and action plans that guide your daily, weekly and monthly actions

Your organization’s success and your personal success depend on how well you define and live by each of these important concepts. In fact:

• Companies whose employees understand the mission and goals enjoy a 29 percent greater return than other firms (Watson Wyatt Work Study).
• U.S. workers want their work to make a difference, but 75 percent do not think their company’s mission statement has become the way they do business (Workplace 2000 Employee Insight Survey).

What Is a Vision and a Vision Statement? 

A vision is a statement about what your organization wants to become. It should resonate with all members of the organization and help them feel proud, excited, motivated and part of something much bigger than themselves.

A vision is a picture of your organization’s desired future expressed in a way that resonates with all members of the organization. The vision is shared with employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, and candidates for employment and creates shared meaning about what your organization wants to become. Determining your vision is an early component in corporate or organizational strategic planning.

The vision of the future that your organization’s employees commit to creating should stretch your organization’s capabilities and expand its current image of itself. The articulated and shared vision provides a picture of the organization that you are trying to create in the future. The vision becomes the rallying cry for your desired future.

The vision is translated into actions via the development of a vision statement that expresses the overall vision. Create a shorter vision statement because employees will remember it better than a one. When employees internalize the vision statement, they take action to make the vision statement come true.

Normally, the vision ranges in length from a couple of words to several pages. A shorter vision is more memorable. When a vision stretches on for pages, and even paragraphs, it is usually because the organization is also expressing how it plans to reach or create the vision. This process is better left for later in strategic planning when the organization develops strategies, goals, and action plans.

Vision Statement Samples 

“To be recognized and respected as one of the premier associations of HR Professionals.” (HR Association of Greater Detroit)

Personal Vision Statement 

Your personal vision for your life can be as simple as a couple of words or as lengthy as 200 or more elements you want to attain or accomplish.

Looking for help and samples to assist you to craft a mission statement that resonates and inspires? Both people and organizations need to establish a mission statement within a strategic framework to experience significant success.

Identifying and sharing your mission statement, vision, values, strategies, goals, and plans will engage your employees and fuel your future accomplishments. Here’s what a mission statement entails along with sample mission statements to help you develop your own.

What Is a Mission Statement? 

Your company or organization mission or purpose is expressed and shared as a mission statement. Mission or purpose is a precise description of what an organization does. The mission should describe the business the organization is in. It’s a definition of why the organization currently exists.

If the mission has been assimilated and integrated into your company culture, each member of your organization should be able to verbally express this mission. Every employee’s actions should demonstrate the mission statement in action.

Personal Mission Statement 

Additionally, each person needs a mission for his or her life. The alignment of your life mission with your organization’s mission is one of the key factors determining whether you are happy with your work and workplace.

If your personal and organizational mission statements are congruent, you are most likely happy with your choice of work. Take the time to develop your mission statement for your own life; compare your personal mission statement with the mission statement of your organization. Do the mission statements meld?

Mission Statement Samples 

These are examples of mission statements that have been developed and shared with the public.

• “FedEx Corporation will produce superior financial returns for its shareowners by providing high value-added logistics, transportation, and related business services through focused operating companies. Customer requirements will be met in the highest quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. FedEx will strive to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners, and suppliers. Safety will be the first consideration in all operations. Corporate activities will be conducted to the highest ethical and professional standards.” (Federal Express Mission and Goals)

• “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.” (Wal-Mart Mission Statement)
• “Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” (Amazon.com Mission Statement)
• “In order to realize our Vision, our Mission must be to exceed the expectations of our customers, whom we define as guests, partners, and fellow employees. (mission) We will accomplish this by committing to our shared values and by achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction, with extraordinary emphasis on the creation of value. (strategy) In this way, we will ensure that our profit, quality, and growth goals are met.” (Westin Hotels and Resorts Mission Statement)

• “To spread the power of optimism.” (Life Is Good)
• “Each day, American Express makes it easier, safer and more rewarding for consumers and businesses to purchase the things they need and for merchants to sell their goods and services. An engine of commerce, American Express provides innovative payment, travel and expense management solutions for individuals and businesses of all sizes. Most of all, we help our customers realize their dreams and aspirations through industry-leading benefits, access to unique experiences, business-building insights, and global customer care. We enable our customers to do more and achieve more. (American Express)

What Are Values and Value Statements? 

Values are beliefs that manifest in how an employee interacts in a workplace, and they stand at the core of what your organization is and what your organization cherishes.

Values also known as core values and as governing values, represent an employee’s most significant commitments to what he finds most important in life.

Value statements are developed from your values and define how people want to behave with each other in the organization day to day. They provide a measuring device against which you evaluate all of your actions and behaviors.

Value statements are declarations about how the organization will value customers, suppliers, and the internal community, describing actions that are the living enactment of the fundamental values held by most individuals within the organization.

The values of each of the individuals in your workplace, along with their experiences and upbringing, meld together to form your corporate culture. The values of your senior leaders are especially important in the development of your culture.

These leaders have a lot of power in your organization to set the course and establish the quality of the environment for people. Your leaders have selected employees who they believe have congruent values and fit your workplace culture.

The Impact of Your Personal Values 

If you think about your own life, your values form the cornerstones for all that you do, think, believe and accomplish. Your personal values define where you spend your time if you are truly living your values.

Each of you makes choices in life according to your most important four to ten values. Take the time to identify what is most important to you and your organization. Identify and live your values. Manifest your values through value statements.

Why Identify and Establish Values? 

Effective organizations identify and develop a clear, concise and shared meaning of values/beliefs, priorities, and direction so that every employee understands and can contribute. Once defined, values impact every aspect of your organization.

You must support and nurture the impact of these value statements or identifying ​the values will have been a wasted exercise. Employees will feel fooled and misled unless they see the impact on your organization.

Create Impact Through Values and Value Statements 

If you want the values you identify and the value statements you craft to have an impact within your organization, follow these guidelines:

• Employees must demonstrate and model these values in action in their personal work behaviors, decision making, contribution, and interpersonal interaction.
• Organizational values help each person establish priorities in their daily work life. Priorities and actions must be grounded in the organization’s values and model the value statements identified for each employee’s job.
• Allow values to guide every decision that is made once the organization has cooperatively created the values and the value statements.

• Structure rewards and recognition within the organization to recognize those people whose work embodies the values and the value statements that the organization identified and embraced.
• Create organizational goals grounded in the identified values. Employees must identify how their goals and actions are congruent with and demonstrate the values daily.
• Recognize the adoption of values and behaviors in regular performance feedback.
• Hire and promote individuals whose outlook and actions are congruent with the organization’s values.

A truly organization-wide, value-based, shared culture will result from the active participation of all members of the organization along with the development of the systems and processes of the organization grounded in the company’s values.

Sample Values 

The following are examples of values: ambition, competency, individuality, equality, integrity, service, responsibility, accuracy, respect, dedication, diversity, improvement, enjoyment/fun, loyalty, credibility, honesty, innovation, teamwork, excellence, accountability, empowerment, quality, efficiency, dignity, collaboration, stewardship, empathy, accomplishment, courage, wisdom, independence, security, challenge, influence, learning, compassion, friendliness, discipline/order, generosity, persistence, optimism, dependability, flexibility.

Family, church, and professionalism are not values, although they’re important aspects of your life and deserving of your attention. If you define what you value about each of these, then you are identifying the core value. For example, the core value hidden in the use of the word family might be close relationships; in church, spirituality; and in professionalism, demonstrating integrity in everything you do.

Corporate Examples of Value Statements 

Companies have many ways of describing their values and value statements including corporate philosophy, words to live by, leadership principles, guiding values or principles and more.

No matter what an organization calls them, the values statements are rooted in the core values of members of the organization. They manifest the core values of their leaders especially. These value statement samples give you an idea of the depth and breadth from which organizations write their values. Search online for values and value statements, and you’ll find some that stretch to several pages too.

Merck’s Values: “To preserve and improve human life.” (Merck)

At Merck, “corporate conduct is inseparable from the conduct of individual employees in the performance of their work. Every Merck employee is responsible for adhering to business practices that are in accordance with the letter and spirit of the applicable laws and with ethical principles that reflect the highest standards of corporate and individual behavior…

“At Merck, we are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We are responsible to our customers, to Merck employees and their families, to the environments we inhabit, and to the societies we serve worldwide. In discharging our responsibilities, we do not take professional or ethical shortcuts. Our interactions with all segments of society must reflect the high standards we profess.”

Zappos Family Core Values: “As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. These are the ten core values that we live by”:

1. “Deliver WOW Through Service”
2. “Embrace and Drive Change”
3. “Create Fun and A Little Weirdness”
4. “Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded”
5. “Pursue Growth and Learning”
6. “Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication”
7. “Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit”
8. “Do More With Less”
9. “Be Passionate and Determined”
10. “Be Humble”

The Zappos Family Values are clearly described in detail on their website and worth a visit.

Google’s Core Philosophy: Google calls its values and value statements its philosophy, and they re-look at the components every few years to make sure that the values are still the same.

• “Focus on the user, and all else will follow.”
• “It’s best to do one thing really, really well.”
• “Fast is better than slow.”
• “Great just isn’t good enough.”

More Samples of Values and Value Statements 

Additional values and value statements samples are available for your review.

• Microsoft’s Core Values
• Amazon.com’s Leadership Principles
• Marriott Core Values

In a strategic business framework for organizational planning and success, your strategies, goals, and action plans intertwine and build upon each other to create the appropriate steps to accomplish your mission and vision.

Organizations need strategies, goals, and action plans to cascade the mission through the organization and engage the talents of all employees. Here is how strategies, goals and action plans fit together to accomplish your mission and vision.

What Are Strategies? 

Strategies are the broadly defined four or five key approaches the organization will use to accomplish its mission and drive toward the vision. Goals and action plans usually flow from each strategy.

One example of a strategy is creating employee empowerment and teamwork. Another is to pursue a new worldwide market in Asia. Or to streamline your current distribution system using lean management principles.

One university Human Resources Development department established several broad strategies for growth. These included becoming the training and education resource of choice for all employees by offering one-stop access to any and all existing education and training resources. Additionally, they determined key strategies for expanding their funding base and moving courses online for customer convenience.

Another Human Resources department devised strategies to develop a superior workforce. These included eliminating poor performers; hiring from several choices of excellent candidates rather than settling on a candidate; developing succession planning, and increasing training and cross-training opportunities.

Sample Strategies 

“The Human Resource Association of Greater Detroit’s (HRAGD) efforts to advance its mission will include: The promotion of voluntary member interchange, observance of ethical and professional standards, the conduct of meetings and workshops on relevant human resources topics and issues, communication of our purpose and activities to the broader business community, cooperation with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), as well as, other SHRM professional and student chapters and related Human Resources organizations and the community involvement of our membership.

“The Association regularly publishes newsletters throughout the year which cover items such as monthly meeting highlights, future programs, Executive Board announcements, SHRM, and legislative updates and general human resources news. Also, a Membership Directory and member skills listing are published.”

FedEx developed these business strategies.

“The unique FedEx operating strategy works seamlessly – and simultaneously – on three levels.

• Compete collectively by standing as one brand worldwide and speaking with one voice.
• Operate independently by focusing on our independent networks to meet distinct customer needs.
• Manage collaboratively by working together to sustain loyal relationships with our workforce, customers, and investors.”

Develop Goals and Action Plans 

After you have developed the key strategies, turn your attention to developing several goals that will enable you to accomplish each of your strategies.

Goals should reach beyond the terms in the traditional SMART acronym: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based.

As an example, the HRAGD group might consider setting one goal to hold a monthly chapter meeting. Another goal that supports the carrying out of their strategies involves scheduling a relevant seminar quarterly. An additional one might include holding informal dinners and cocktail hours to support voluntary member exchange.

Once you have enabled strategy accomplishment through setting goals, develop action plans to accomplish each goal. For HRAGD to offer a quarterly seminar, here’s an action plan to follow:

• Establish a cross-section of professionals as a committee and meet to plan the sessions.
• Determine budget.
• Perform an assessment of HRAGD member needs.
• Select topics based on member needs assessment.
• Locate exceptional speakers.
• Pick speaker and negotiate workshop length, pay, topic and objectives.
• Determine location and schedule the seminar.
• Plan advertising strategies.

Make action plans as detailed as necessary and integrate the individual steps into your planning system. An effective planning system, whether it uses a software program, an iPad, or paper and pen, will keep your goals and action plans on track and on target.

Want to be one of the organizations whose employees understand the mission and goals and enjoys a 29 percent greater return over other firms? Involve as many people as you can in charting the roadmap we’ve shared for developing a strategic framework for your business.

Executed effectively, you will enjoy a greater return. With your vision, mission, values, strategies, goals and action plans, you’ll win, both personally and professionally.

Source: SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD -<https://www.thebalancecareers.com/create-your-personal-vision-statement-1919208> Accessed 17th Feb 2019

Want to understand the basics of performance management? Many writers and consultants are using the term as a substitution for the traditional appraisal system. You are encouraged to think of the term in this broader work system context instead. Performance management eliminates the need for performance appraisals, employee reviews, and employee evaluations.

Performance management is not an annual appraisal meeting. It is not preparing for that appraisal meeting nor is it a self-evaluation. It’s not a form nor is it a measuring tool although many organizations may use tools and forms to track goals and improvements, they are not the process of performance management.

Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities.

Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed. It ends when an employee leaves your organization.

Performance management defines your interaction with an employee at every step of the way in between these major life cycle occurrences. Performance management makes every interaction opportunity with an employee into a learning occasion.

Components of a Performance Management System 

The performance management system may contain all of these components, but it is the overall system that matters, not the individual components. Many organizations have been able to develop effective performance management systems without all of the following practices.

A performance management system includes the following actions:

• Develop clear job descriptions using an employee recruitment plan that identifies the selection team.
• Recruit potential employees and select the most qualified to participate in interviews onsite.
• Conduct interviews to narrow down your pool of candidates.
• Hold multiple additional meetings, as needed, to get to know your candidates’ strengths, weaknesses, and abilities to contribute what you need. Use potential employee testing and assignments where they make sense for the position that you are filling.

• Select appropriate people using a comprehensive employee selection process to identify the most qualified candidate who has the best cultural fit and job fit that you need.
• Offer your selected candidate the job and negotiate the terms and conditions of employment including salary, benefits, paid time off, and other organizational perks.
• Welcome the new employee to your organization.
• Provide effective new employee orientation, assign a mentor, and integrate your new employee into the organization and its culture.

• Negotiate requirements and accomplishment-based performance standards, outcomes, and measures between the employee and his or her new manager.
• Provide ongoing education and training as needed.
• Provide on-going coaching and feedback.
• Conduct quarterly performance development planning discussions.
• Design effective compensation and recognition systems that reward people for their ongoing contributions.
• Provide promotional/career development opportunities including lateral moves, transfers, and job shadowing for staff.

• Assist with exit interviews to understand WHY valued employees leave the organization.

Learn More about Performance Management Quickly 

The articles below offer information about how to master performance management quickly and efficiently and should be read in the presented order. For your best results in developing your performance management system.

This is the quick path to learning more about performance management and performance development planning. You can implement this system in your organization with great success.

• Performance Appraisals Don’t Work tells you why you want to move away from the traditional appraisal system.
• Performance Management Glossary Entry provides a basic definition of performance management.
• Performance Management Is Not an Annual Appraisal provides the components of a performance management system.
• Performance Management Process Checklist gives you the components of the performance management process.
• Performance Development Planning provides the steps for preparing and implementing performance development planning.

• Performance Development Planning Form is used to write out specific goals and measurements, to be updated quarterly.
• Goal Setting: Beyond Traditional SMART Goals discusses goal setting.
• Tips to Help Managers Improve Performance Appraisals provides concrete suggestions about how those of you who have to manage in a traditional performance appraisal culture can make them better—for both you and the employee.
• Common Problems With Performance Appraisals identifies the most common reasons why appraisals are not effective.

• Phrases for Approaching Performance Reviews and Difficult Conversations shares tips about successfully holding a comfortable appraisal meeting.

With all of these tips and tools to help you develop a performance management system, you’ll find it easy to put such a system together. Staying committed and making it work is the hard part. But, you can do it. Your managers and employees will see the utility.

For those of you who have little impact on the system used to review employee performance, the appraisal articles will help you work with what you have. Best wishes for your success.

Source: SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD – <https://www.thebalancecareers.com/performance-management-1918226> Accessed 17th Feb 2019

Goals are objectives, targets, purposes, intentions, and plans that you intend to achieve. They can be personal or support the objectives of your work organization. Whether your goal is a promotion at work, a streamlined work process, a new customer, a published article, an exercise program, or weight loss, the goal must be your goal. You are less likely to achieve your manager’s goal, your spouse’s goal, or the goal you think you ought to work on this year.

Set Goals Based on Values 

Hyrum Smith, the founder of Franklin Quest, later Franklin-Covey Inc., developed a “Success Triangle” that puts governing values at the base of the goal-setting process and recommends linking every goal to a governing value. For example, if diversity in the workforce is a value your organization espouses, then at least one goal must further diversity. Every goal should be linked to a governing value.

Establish short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals based on the solid foundation of your values. If your goal is congruent with and allows you to live your most important values, you are more likely to accomplish the goal.

Gene Donohue of TopAchievement.com suggests setting goals in all aspects of your life to maintain your life balance. You are less likely to experience warring priorities if every aspect of your life has a value-based goal. He suggests setting goals in the following areas:

• Family and home
• Financial and career
• Spiritual and ethical
• Physical and health
• Social and cultural
• Mental and educational

Listen to Your Positive Voice 

Each of us has the voice of our subconscious, judging self in our heads. On a daily basis, you engage in self-talk and comment on each situation you encounter. You discuss events and plans in your mind.

Your commentary is both positive and negative. Positive thoughts and planning support the accomplishment of your goals. Negative thoughts and comments undermine your self-esteem and self-confidence and negatively impact your ability to accomplish your goals.

Listen to your voice. You can change its tone by believing in yourself and in your ability to accomplish your goals and resolutions.

If you are a manager, one of your more important tasks is to support the development of positive self-esteem by your staff members. Your positive outlook and belief in their success at accomplishing great goals foster their increased self-esteem and self-confidence. This, in turn, magnifies their ability to accomplish more and contribute more to your business.

Paint a Vivid Outcome 

Traditionally, goals were established around measurable outcomes. But don’t tie yourself to setting only measurable goals; you may find yourself concentrating on the trivial because it is measurable rather than on your most important outcomes. Sometimes the most important goals—the nonurgent, critical goals—are hard to measure.

“Explore alternatives for a business in the World Wide Web” is tough to measure, whereas the steps are easy to measure. “Learn about new options and think about performance management” is tough to measure in any significant way. As you move up the management ranks, the key measurable aspects of your job will likely be the results produced by your reporting staff. With hard-to-meausure goals, start with a picture in your mind that describes the outcome you are seeking. Make the picture as vivid as you can.

Write Your Goals 

Writing out your goal is your commitment to achieving the goal. Its a powerful statement compared with half-formulated thoughts in the back of your mind. It is the conscious promise to yourself to pay attention to the accomplishment of the goal. Writing out potential action plans and due dates make the goal even more powerful.

Share Your Goals With People Who Are Important to You 

If you are certain your significant others will support your goals, share them. Your manager is likely to support your accomplishment since your success is her success.

Honestly assess the ability of your family members, peers, and friends to provide support. In close relationships, many different feelings, experiences, and historical events are at play. If you don’t believe you will have wholehearted support, keep the goals to yourself.

Check Goal Setting and Achievement Progress Regularly 

One of the weaknesses of any annual appraisal system is the lack of frequency of progress and success measurement and tracking. You are most likely to accomplish the goals you set if you review them daily as part of your normal planning process.

Whether you use a paper planner, a smartphone, or a computer, enter your goals and schedule daily and weekly actions that support their accomplishment. The discipline of the daily review is a powerful goal accomplishment tool.

Take Action to Identify and Eliminate Obstacles to Goal Setting Success 

Simply tracking your goals daily is not enough. If you’re unhappy with your progress, assess what is keeping you from accomplishing the goals. Ask yourself questions such as, “Is this goal really important?” Perhaps reevaluate the goal.

”Are there specific obstacles you are experiencing which are interfering with your ability to accomplish the goal?” In this case, make action plans to remove the obstacles or seek help from a coworker, friend, or family member.

If you are not making progress on a particular goal, attempt to do a root-cause analysis to determine why. Only by honestly analyzing your lack of progress can you determine the steps to take to change.

Reward Yourself and Celebrate Goal Accomplishment 

Even the accomplishment of a minor goal is cause for celebration. Don’t depress yourself with thoughts about all that you still have to do. Celebrate what you have done. Then move on to the next milestone.

Goals and New Year Resolutions Change 

Periodically look at the goals you have set. Are the goals still the right goals? Give yourself permission to change your goals and resolutions based on changing circumstances.

Don’t spend an entire year failing to achieve a particular goal. Your time is better spent on achievement than on beating yourself up for lack of progress. Maybe you made the goal too big or maybe you set too many goals. Do an honest assessment, change what needs to change, and move on.

Paying attention to these guidelines can make all the difference in your life and help power your success.

Source: BY SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD - <https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-set-and-achieve-goals-1918137> Accessed 17th Feb 2019

What Job Titles Designate 

These job titles designate the hierarchy, from executive management to low-ranking employees, within the job structure of an organization. They also denote the reporting relationships of staff members as well as the status level within the company. In some instances, titles designate an individual as an officer of the company with specific responsibilities that make them legally accountable in their position. These include such staff positions as CEO, president, and vice president.

You will find job titles and the organization hierarchy displayed on an organizational chart which reflects your organization’s culture.

These rankings demonstrate your commitment to a top-down, hierarchical organization versus a relatively flat reporting structure.

Levels in the Job Title Hierarchy 

Organizations come up with all sorts of titles that they believe demonstrate their corporate values, define the responsibilities of a position, and designate the place the job holds in the organization’s hierarchy. It’s worth noting that the same job can have different titles depending on the company, the industry, the location, and the size of the company.

In the field of Human Resources, job titles that are commonly in use range from administrative assistant to an attorney.

These are titles that you typically find in an organization with the level of the job represented numerically. You won’t find all of them in any one organization, and you will find many variations that suit the organization and its hierarchical structure.

Historically, the top three positions are:

1. Chairman of the Board of Directors
2. Vice Chairman of the Board
3. Board of Directors (members)

These people are external to the operations of the organization although the Chief Executive Officer and even the President frequently sit on the Board.

Here is an example of the traditional internal hierarchy of an organization.

1. Chief Executive Officer
2. Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Chief Data Officer (CDO), Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), Chief Security Officer (CSO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Talent Officer, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHR), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Chief User Experience Officer (CUEO), Chief Automation Officer (CAO), Chief Intellectual Property Officer (CIPO)

1. President
2. Executive Vice President
3. Senior Vice President
4. Vice President
5. Assistant Vice President
6. Associate Vice President
7. Senior Director
8. Director
9. Assistant Director
10. Manager
11. Middle Manager of people or a function
12. Employees, freelancers, contract employees, temporary employees, contingent employees. part-time employees

Organizational Charts 

An organizational chart is a visual communication tool that allows employees and other stakeholders to see employee job titles as well as the reporting relationships in an organization. 

The organizational chart usually portrays the organization’s structure using boxes and vertical and horizontal lines to connect the boxes. The vertical lines demonstrate the reporting relationships of supervisors and their reporting staff.

The lateral or horizontal lines indicate a working relationship. A dotted or broken line indicates a strong working relationship with an employee who may supervise your work or projects. But, the employee is not your boss.

Use and Types

Organizational charts are used for:

• Organizational and Supervisory Communication
• Workforce Planning
• Departmental or Team Planning
• Resource Planning
• Change Management
• Organizational Restructuring or Redesign
• Job Analysis

If you look at an organizational chart and find rows of vertical boxes with few relationship lines extending from the boxes, the organization is probably hierarchical.

The boxes on an organizational chart for a flat organization have a more horizontal relationship. In a team-based, empowering organization, each supervisor has many reporting staff members.

And, the team-based organizational chart may focus on the relationship between teams to illustrate the interlinking of people and teams.

Predictions for the Future 

Some analysts and consultants predict that you will see continued expansion in the executive jobs with titles at the C-level (or C-suite as it is commonly called) such as COO, CEO, and CIO.

As the war for talent increases, qualified executives for these roles will demand the C-level title so that they have equivalent authority and responsibility with their co-executives. 

Analysts are also predicting the flattening of the hierarchy through the elimination of many middle management roles in favor of executive-level managers who report to the executives at the C-level. This will have the effect of eliminating a communication and goal-definition level that frequently creates problems in communicating effectively.

Source: SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD -< https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-do-job-titles-signify-on-the-organization-chart-1918171> Accessed 17th Feb 2019

It takes more than just a handshake between you and your Marketing VP to complete an effective SLA. Here is a step-by-step process of how to set up an effective SLA that actually works and keeps both parties happy!

Write an Executive Summary

Your executive summary should answer one question: why are we doing this? Present your answer in a way that will be clear to your CEO and board of directors. Maybe you feel like marketing could do more to support the initiative and play a bigger role in growing revenue. Perhaps there is a lack of clarity in the handoff process of leads between sales and marketing. Whatever your reason for implementing an SLA to improve sales and marketing alignment, make sure this reason is clear to all parties involved.

Agree upon definitions for ALL terminology

This is one of the most crucial aspects of designing your SLA, precisely because there has been such heretofore disconnect between sales and marketing. Prior to this alignment, it is likely that both departments had different ideas and definitions of key terms, including:

• What’s a prospect? Are these names collected from your website, via organic searches, or any other means of top-of-the-funnel activity? Odds are these people need additional vetting or nurturing from marketing before they are sales-ready.
• What’s a lead? Typically, a lead is a prospect that has taken the next step and engaged with your company or your content in a way. In a word, leads are arm-raisers, people looking to learn more. However, make sure this is clear to both sales and marketing.
• What’s a marketing-qualified lead? Now is when things get tricky. Companies typically have certain qualifications or steps that leads have to take in order to be marketing-qualified, such as signing up for a free trial or downloading X pieces of content. Finalize this definition and make sure it is known across the company.

Learn all about each other’s processes

This is most crucial for marketing – it is rare for marketing teams to be fully abreast of what the sales reps are doing to win clients, and vice versa. For instance, imagine if marketing knows what an ideal customer profile of a winning client looks like. With a fully-crafted image of an ideal customer, marketing can do a better job of actively seeking out these ICPs.

Or let’s say sales meets with marketing to share the objections they encounter most common. With these in mind, marketing can start developing campaigns and materials that anticipate these objections and solves for them, before the prospects even speak with a sales rep. Similarly, sales should understand the marketing process – such as how nurturing campaigns are run – to better time their own activities. Most importantly, both sides should determine if their respective efforts are synced up to the buyer’s process.

Let’s talk numbers

Of course, no service-level agreement would be complete without the relevant sales metrics in place. These metrics are necessary to give each team a goal to shoot for, while providing them benchmarks to measure their progress against. Some specific metrics to consider in your service-level agreement include:

• How many sales-ready leads will marketing deliver each week / month / quarter?
• How quickly will marketing follow up on each of these leads? Research has shown that immediate follow-up can lead to higher conversion rates – it’s on both teams to determine a follow-up time that is effective, while remaining realistic.
• How much will marketing contribute to the pipeline? This is one of the most important sales pipeline metrics to ensure that sales is marketing is holding up its end of the bargain.

We’ll dive further into the relevant sales metrics of a service-level agreement in a future blog post.

Sales and marketing alignment is absolutely crucial to the success of both your sales and marketing departments, so don’t skimp on the resources; take the time and follow these best practices to ensure an SLA that is clear, concise and actually effective.

Source: <https://www.insightsquared.com/2014/01/how-to-set-up-a-service-level-agreement-that-works/> Accessed 15th Feb 2019

A mission statement reflects your business’s goals and values with few words. You use a mission statement to show potential customers what makes your company stand out.

I’ve created many small business mission statements over my 30 years in business. I’ve written mission statement ideas, revised them, scrapped them, and conducted research. I’ve even met with an expert in creating mission statements.

To save you from spending a lot of time with trial and error, here is a list of things to keep in mind as you create your business’s mission statement.

7 rules about how to create a mission statement

Take a look at these seven tips I’ve learned that can help you develop a great mission statement.

#1: You need a simple mission statement

Use one sentence as your mission statement. Being short can be more beneficial than a full sentence that uses proper grammar. Conciseness is often more memorable and can help build brand awareness more efficiently. If it’s longer than one sentence, your mission might end up too wordy.

Try to avoid big, fancy words, especially if they do not fit with your brand. Eliminate all superfluous words. If potential customers can’t memorize your mission statement, you’ve missed the mark.

#2: Your mission statement should be original

You should try not to outsource your mission statement. Your mission statement is your message to the world and your customers. For an authentic mission that reflects your company’s values, you should write it yourself.

If you’re having trouble coming up with a mission statement, do some brainstorming. Write down your business’s purpose, goals, and values. Use the list to come up with a concise and honest mission for your business.

#3: You can’t include everything

You’re the business owner. You’re in charge. You’re the expert on your business. And, you probably have a lot to say about it.

But you can’t include every detail about your business in your mission statement. You’ll have to leave some details out. Choose words that are memorable and fit with your brand. When it comes to your mission statement, a few key words or phrases can have the most impact.

#4: Your mission statement needs to be honest

Your mission statement should clearly tell what you’re doing at your business. When a customer sees or hears your mission, they should think, “That’s what they do, alright.”

In other words, you can’t brag about being the best in the U.S. if you’re not. Your mission must be realistic.

#5: Don’t make your mission statement too broad or narrow

Many entrepreneurs like to experiment, which means they might lose their focus.

Just like the guardrail on a highway keeps cars on the road, your mission statement should keep your business on course. The next time you have a new business idea, see if it falls between the guardrails of your mission statement. That keeps your mission statement from being too broad or too narrow.

#6: The statement can’t do it all

Others might say your mission statements needs a ton of information about your small business.

You can create different statements on their own, but don’t make your mission statement do all the work. It’s alright to put in some of your passion and originality into your mission statement, but don’t forget to keep it short!

#7: It’s OK to change your mission statement

It’s OK to try a new mission statement and throw it out in a few days. It’s also OK to have a mission statement for years and then replace it.

Change your mission statement as it is necessary. The longer you are in business, the more your business will change and grow. Your mission may not be the same as when you started. Your mission statement should evolve with your company.

Mission statement example

Throughout the years, I’ve had several mission statements for Software, my accounting and payroll software company. Some of them have worked, while others didn’t quite hit the mark. Let’s take a look at the difference between two mission statements.Example 1: Patriot’s current mission statement:To make accounting and payroll fast, simple, and affordable for American small businesses

If you look at the seven rules above, you’ll see that Patriot’s statement fits each rule. But, it took me several tries over a 12-year period to make the mission statement that simple.Example 2: Patriot’s mission statement before the statement shown above:We are passionate about providing simple, accurate, and affordable online software that makes it easy for American small businesses to process their critical data.

I could never remember it. None of my employees could remember it. And, it uses phrases that people don’t usually say, like “to process their critical data.”

Last thoughts

It’s ideal to squeeze some passion, core values, or competitiveness into your mission. But as mentioned earlier, the elements have to be real to your brand. Keep the seven rules above in mind as you create your business’s mission statement.

Source: Mike Kappel - <https://smallbusiness.patriotsoftware.com/how-to-create-mission-statement/> Accessed 10th Feb 2019

At almost every convention I speak at, someone will approach me afterwards and ask: ‘James, should I start a hotel business?’, or ‘James, should I open a restaurant?’ The list continues: jewellers, clothing lines, even air lines. The fact is that I am not going to be able to answer this question for you. What I can do is tell you how to find the answer you need. There are 3 very simple, but very essential questions that you need to ask yourself before you give up the day job. Read carefully, because this is important:

Is This A Business, Or A Hobby?

Entrepreneurs normally have their ‘Eureka!’ moments when they find themselves solving a problem. The question is, is this problem relevant to the masses? It’s important to realise that not everyone will share your passion for digging holes, for DIY tinkering, or for multi functional storage space. Whilst these things may appeal to some, they probably aren’t going to generate enough interest to sustain a business. Your state-of-the-art shovel is invaluable to you, but perhaps not to your neighbour. So, before you launch your business, ask yourself this: am I catering to a hobby, or am I creating a business? If you admit that it’s a hobby, that doesn’t mean you are admitting failure. Remember: every idea that doesn’t work is one step closer to one that will. 

Is It Viable?

If you’ve found the concept, it’s time to get statistical. For every business idea, you need to ensure that it fulfills this equation: 

Price of product/service = Cost of Goods + Cost of Time + Cost of Opportunity (i.e. the money you have to spend to acquire and supply your customers) + Profit.

A lot of people tend to write time out of this equation. Never underestimate this aspect of starting a business. No matter how hard you work, how focussed you are, there are only so many hours in your day. The reality is, that if you leave any factor of this equation out it becomes void. Don’t scale yourself out of your own business, you are its core ingredient. 

Is It Desirable? 

If your statistics check out, you can progress to the next stage. Ask yourself: is this product or service actually desirable? This is different as to whether or not it’s a hobby – this is not a question of how many people it will appeal to, but how much. The only way to find this out is to do some field work. Ask as many people as you can what they think of your idea, and ask them honestly. These conversations need to be frank. There’s no use in your mate telling you it’s a good idea just so that they don’t upset you. Flattery will get you quite literally nowhere. 

So, in conclusion: check your idea against yourself, then check it against the facts, then check it against your friends. This might seem like simple logic, but I see people get this wrong almost everyday. Don’t ask me whether your antique book shop will succeed, ask yourself. You are the only person that can make this happen – to an extent, you are your product. It’s not a shame to give up on a bad idea, but it would be to give up on yourself. What protocols do you have when it comes to taking a risk? 

Source: James Caan CBE -<https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-most-important-questions-ask-before-starting-james-caan-cbe/> Accessed 12th Feb 2019