M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Leadership for Saints, Part 11:
Keeping It Simple
by Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar

Most good Mission Statements (we’ll now use this phrase for simplicity and consistency) contain two basic elements: a declaration of what you want to do and a declaration of what you want to be.

The value of such a document is fourfold:

1. It forces you to think deeply and strategically about your life. The process expands your perspective and causes you to re-examine your deepest thoughts. It challenges you to resolve the inevitable conflicts between the “wants” and the “shoulds” in your life. And it enables you to identify and clarify the purpose of your life and what is most important to you.

2. The very act of writing it all down seems to be therapeutic and clarifying in and of itself. Undergoing the discipline of succinctly expressing such important thoughts can help us understand better than ever what we stand for and what we don’t and won’t stand for.

3. The act of writing the document seems to imprint our values and purposes more firmly in our minds. Then they become more cemented within our identity us instead of just something we pondered about in one instance and then set aside.

4. The document provides a tangible tool that keeps before us our hope and vision—and strategic plan—for our lives.

Although the notion of personal Mission Statement has received a lot of attention in the popular press in recent years, it is an ageless idea. Consider these:

Creed

I believe in God, the Almighty Ruler of nations, our great and good merciful Maker, our Father in heaven, who notes the fall of a sparrow and numbers the hairs on our heads. I recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proved by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. I believe that the will of God prevails. Without him, all human reliance is vain. With that assistance I cannot fall. I have a solemn vow registered in heaven to finish the work I am in, in full view of my responsibility to God, with malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives me to see the right.
— Abraham Lincoln

Resolution

Let then our first act every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:
I shall not fear anyone on earth.
I shall fear only God.
I shall not bear ill toward anyone.
I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
I shall conquer untruth by truth.
And in resisting untruth I shall put up with all suffering.
— Mahatma Gandhi

Others who choose to draft personal Mission Statements often include declarations such as these:

“I’ll do everything I can to make our home a place of refuge, of joy, of peace, of comfort and harmony.”

“I will be a concerned and informed citizen, appropriately involved in the political process to ensure that my voice is heard.”

“My money will be my servant, not my master. I will regularly save or invest a portion of my income. I will keep myself free from consumer debt.”

We’ve observed that many people turn to an especially simple format for their Mission Statements. After identifying their key roles, they simply state guiding principles under each role in the form of “bullet” points.

For example, one man drafted his Mission Statement like this:

As a Disciple, I will—
• honor my temple and priesthood covenants
• study and obey the commandments
• adopt and follow Christlike habits

As a Patriarch, I will—
• honor, love and respect my companion
• teach correct principles by precept and by example
• maintain trusting relationships with my children

As a Family Member, I will—
• honor my progenitors for what they did and who they are
• remember the reality of the eternal family
• nurture relationships with extended family

This man, who has carefully distilled his persona to half a dozen key roles, uses his personal Mission Statement as a guide or road map in living his life. This is done not merely in the sense of regarding the document as a list of broad brush principles. The man uses the document to deliberately plan the way he spends that precious and finite resource called time.

Translating Good Intentions Into Specific Actions

For instance, notice the goals expressed as “bullet” points under his roles. Each denotes action—containing verbs like “honor,” “study,” “obey,” “adopt,” “follow,” “teach,” “nurture.” At the beginning of each week, the man translates these values and goals into specific plans for the next seven days. He schedules a temple trip with his wife or an evening of family history work. He makes a place on his calendar for daily scripture study. He plans phone calls or letters to family members who live in distant cities. In other words, he translates his good intentions into specific actions. He transforms his high-sounding values and goals into real-life action and performance He avoids the guilt trips that come with failure to make our dreams come true. He understands the reality that if we chase too many rabbits we catch none of them. So he has decided which “rabbits” are worth chasing and invests his energy and time where it does the most good.

His is a mission that motivates.

Investing in a personal mission statement—and we strongly recommend that you do—pays huge effectiveness dividends. And remember the law of the harvest. Take no short cuts. Don’t expect to draft a meaningful mission statement at a single sitting. It is a process, not an event. The best mission statements tend to evolve over time. But you must start somewhere. Start now.

What does this have to do with vision? Everything. Remember, great leaders have an inside-out perspective. In order to understand and guide others, they must first understand and guide themselves. This requires a form of pathmapping—envisioning a desirable end result and deliberately mapping a route to get there. The perfect model is, of course, the Savior and the Plan of Salvation.

In addition to having a vision—and a plan—for your own performance, you must have a vision and plan for the labor to which you have been called.

Quotes to Remember

A declaration of purpose, a personal mission statement, or an organizational theme focuses attention upon the central objectives of the person or group. Such objectives encompass many areas of influence and should contain long-range perspective. A mission statement declares both what we want to do and what we want to become, and it will also probably suggest why we want to do it. Such a creed states the principles or values that motivate and give purpose to our activities. – Victor Ludlow

Strategic planning is essential to the success of any enterprise. A clear mission statement with goals and objectives are necessary ingredients for progress in any organization. – Church News

The guiding principles to the realization of the higher life are not many nor complex. Indeed, they are few and simple, and can be applied by everyone in any phase of life.
First, is a recognition of the reality of spiritual values…
The second condition I name is a sense of obligation to the social group…
Next to the obligation to society I name the power of self-denial and the resultant self-mastery…
A fourth contribution to spirituality I will name is a consciousness that the ultimate purpose of life is the perfecting of the individual…. – David O. McKay

In the process of exchanging themselves for higher spiritual values, they "become." Action is of value in becoming; thought alone is not enough. – Bertrand Logan Ball, Jr.

We have been given our free agency to choose for ourselves, it is vitally important that we carefully evaluate all aspects of life before making our choices. – Victor L. Brown

Note: The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted on Meridian are only a fraction of the contents of this 349-page book. To learn more about this ground-breaking book and to order copies, click here.

© 2002 by Rodger Dean Duncan & Ed J. Pinegar