‘Planting’ A Mission Statement

What I try to do here on Variable Interest is have readers think, most importantly, about the environment around them. And not just the ever-important natural one; but their business, work and social one – all of which gives to and then takes from them.

The theme is some flows and some systems, often coupled with analogies or a rant. I generally discourage rants, but too often sarcasm gets the best of me. How do I keep on track then? (if you can call that keeping on-track)

I figure that the best way is to HAVE a mission statement. Sure, mine’s a short mass of words on the right column of this page, but it’s there to remind me of a group of things. Each post needs a statement, every blog needs one, and each and every day deserves one.

The other day Todd blogged the following in writing about his upcoming search for an internship: And maybe our careers don’t have to define us as people. But do they end up doing that inevitably?

I’d say it’s a matter of it you put it out there in your personal mission statement. For me, it started to come clear over time. I never used to think of myself as a environmental consultant, just a resource/forestry one: but it’s turning into the former. More and more people are recognizing my (our company) work as similar to environmental services. After night class the other night a peer shouted out to me as I left, “Keep saving those trees!”. I laughed, cause that’s not really what my work generally does, they do the traditional opposite actually; analyze AVAILABLE timber, we show them where and what to take.

But as with trends, we’re phasing in the environmental services because that’s what is proving popular. What proves popular with your own mind? What pattern keeps on emerging which shows you what you should work on, or work with it? You should take that pattern and make it reality.

Back to what Todd asked, if our careers generally begin to define us…I think probably yes, depending on if you let it. After all, as so many bloggers know – it becomes part of one’s brand. Be on the lookout for how others brand you and make it a mission. After all, the ‘Brand’ is about how others perceive you, so make it work for them.

At this point I was about to make a plant analogy, but of course people’s paths are more fluid, as should a healthy career be. Ah shoot, I can’t help myself: Trees in a system are born with defined missions, born with a path, obviously something they have limited control over. When that pine is seeded it could get trapped in a potentially dark under story, it has to shoot to the top and reach (race) for light to compete. Ourselves; we can choose the system below us, and we can control the environment above us to a certain extent. We can be that networking vine, that broad-leaved plant, or the light seeking pine – whichever best suits our goals and personality.

We could be all three if we can keep it under control.