Phase One – Forming the Mission: Defining the Purpose for Action
Step 1: Introspection – The inner search of for a vision
Leaders must be able to look within for the purpose of action and form a mental image of the desired state.
Step 2: Extrospection Looking to others to refine the vision
Do a reality check; fomulate the vision with the external realities so that it’s pratical and feasible.
Step 3: Defining the Mission – Committing to the objective
Your mission defines the purpose for action. For an organization, it comes from the central force of that organization like the CEO or board of directors.
Before making a commitment to act, and before starting any action, it is important to understand and determine the purpose for the action. It is essential for the leader or leaders of an organization to know and understand the organization’s purpose. Purpose should be derived from vision, or the desired state resulting from the action or actions of the individual or the organization. Some might think of vision as the objective of action, but a more appropriate description of vision is “the desired state,” that one hopes to attain or achieve at the conclusion of the action.
Before you start your action, or start to get to where you want to go, you should know exactly where you are and what factors might influence your journey. In other words, you need to perform a reality check, or a feasibility check. In business this is sometimes referred to as “SWAT,” an acronym for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Sometimes a reality check is called a gap analysis, where the objective is to find a product or service that is missing in the marketplace, and thus provides an opportunity to fill the perceived need at a profit. There might be many factors involved in a reality check, such as environmental, legal and global events.
If the reality check shows that you have a reasonable chance of getting to where you want to go and you have what it take, you are ready to make a commitment to the mission of achieving your vision. At this point the purpose of your action is determined and you are ready to embark on your journey. These three steps, comprising the first phase of the Framework for Purposeful Action, are illustrated in the sketch below:
The Framework for Purposeful Action disects actions into twelve discrete steps that are, in turn, organized into three phases. Read more on the Framework for Purposeful Action using the links on your left.