I have two mission statements. One is my company’s statement, and the other is my own. I don’t tell anyone about my personal mission statement, and the other, I simply follow out of necessity. I need a paycheck (for now, anyway).
In the 20 years or so in which I have been a loyal employee, I have been subjected to no less than 50 courses, seminars, workshops - all this in the name of employee improvement. It seems that with each executive shuffle, we are guaranteed at least one mandatory workshop. The new management wants to mold us according to their vision.
Very few are of any real value. We all sit through them, however, like a bunch of yes-men. We nod and pretend it’s interesting. “That’s it, it’ll be over soon. Next year the new execs will abolish this model and create their own”. Sigh…
You see, the number one rule to surviving the monotony of the corporate world is to smile when appropriate, act as though you give a s**t, and always keep one thing in mind: as long as you do a good job and satisfy the person directly above you, you’re going to be just fine.
Oh, and one more thing: Always keep in mind that you really don’t have a choice. They will tell you that they “value your input”, but at the end of the day you have to accept whatever is given to you. You are, after all, a team player - are you not? Team players follow orders and respect the chain of command for the greater good of the company. Team players will always put fellow employees and the company first.
While my company’s mission statement drones on about “customer service” and “results oriented” people and services, my mission statement is geared towards how I envision my ideal life to be. It tends to be much less structured than the company blueprint.
My company’s mission statement goes something like this:
“We are a customer oriented company whose goals are to provide our external clients with the highest level of service possible through an empowered and highly skilled workforce.”
And so on…
My mission statement is as follows:
“I will strive for freedom and self-sufficiency while remaining trapped within the corporate environment. I will learn to differentiate between things that will benifit me and things that will continue to enslave me. I am a self-oriented individual who will work towards independence and a life of my choosing and, ultimately, a life outside of the corporate world.”