Mission Critical

John Cousins
February 7, 2023
1 min read

Define your mission statement. This is one sentence that summarizes what you are trying to do. It should be able to stand up on its own.

Your mission statement will keep everything else in check. Every decision you make relative to your business should be measured against the criteria of the mission statement.

If an idea seems great but is not in line with your mission statement, discard it. Focus is about eliminating great ideas that don’t fit. Take a lesson from Steve Jobs:

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

Your mission statement will help you be effective. It provides a criteria to judge potential paths and decisions.

“People are effective because they say no.” — Peter Drucker

If its not a “hell yes!” then its a no.

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John Cousins
Author, Entrepreneur, & Teacher

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