Where do I Start? THIRD of Series

What do I NEED to consider? Kind of a basic question with lots of possible answers.  You need to know what you need to know to accomplish whatever task you have defined that you want to complete.  Therefore at each stage of your journey to your organization's Vision you will have to obtain the necessary skills and knowledge to accomplish the task.  You may wish to learn the knowledge for yourself, buy the knowledge, or utilize the knowledge your team has.  Normally it will be a combination of all three.

The knowledge, skills, and tools needed to realize your Vision will be a composite of past experience, current skills, and future learning events.  Take an assessment of your own skills, your team's skills, tools you own or can acquire to determine your "knowledge state" and compare those with what is thought to be needed.

Some of the basic 'need-to-know' are shown below and can be found on various posts on this blog.  Check out the page tabs for quick links to them.

NEED TO KNOW:

1. Your personal style - are you a Manager or a Leader?
2. What task(s) are to be accomplished.
3. Key business strategy factors.
4. What you do not know.
5. Why am I doing this?
6. Who knows what, in your organization.
7. Who can help.
8. Do you plan to go it alone or with consultants.
9. What's in it for me.
10. Can we afford it.
11. What knowledge needs to be purchased.
12. What tools to consider.
13. Is the organization and leadership committed.
14. How do you enlist support.
15. Where to obtain the knowledge and tools needed.

See also:

Where do I Start?  FIRST
Where do I Start?  SECOND

Mission Statement(s)

Your mission is the nuts and bolts of your vision.  A mission statement concerns what an organization is all about.

 It answers three questions:

1. What do we do?
2. For whom do we do it?
3. What is the benefit?

A mission statement gives the overall purpose of an organization, while a vision statement describes a picture of the desired future. Your mission statement explains what you do, for whom, and what is the benefit.  The vision statement describes how the future will look if the you achieve your mission!

An example:
"We build the finest castles for the world's billionaires.   Our castles are eco-friendly, made out of all natural materials and meet all local energy conservation standards. We strive to mazimize our client's return as much as possible while taking into account all possible threats ."

The differences:

1. Vision:  Defines where the organization wants to be in the future. It reflects the optimistic view of the organization's future.
2. Mission:  Defines where the organization is going now, basically describing the purpose, why this organization exits.
3. Values:  Main values protected by the organization during the progression, reflecting the organization's culture and priorities.
4. Strategic Planning: Saves wasted time, every minute spent in planning saves ten minutes in execution.