Identify Your Why & Purposefully Looking Ahead
We each have our own sense of purpose, the reason we get up in the morning and tackle each day head on. Often times individuals don't consciously identify their personal brand purpose, their Why, but just vaguely have a notion of what they enjoy, what they are good at and what brings them joy. During COVID-19, that becomes harder to pinpoint and focus on for the individual. The uncertainty around what the future holds is real and can derail even the most driven individual, at least temporarily. Remember, it is okay to feel overwhelmed, bummed, confused or anxious during this time, but it is also critical to use this time to reinforce your skill set, determine purpose and focus on what motivates you long-term. Lacking clarity or a "North Star" is a critical oversight when managing your career and future. Maybe you’re in a job for the paycheck or have outgrown your current role but haven’t really been motivated to push yourself. Spend some time digging into what makes you tick and what you can offer to find your path for growth (in any sense of the word) now and post-pandemic.
The first step to establishing your your purpose is to identify your mission and vision-in life and business. Companies do this regularly and post it on their website. Brands are built around this guiding principle. Your personal brand is no different. Think about your LinkedIn, does it list your title under your name, or a statement about what motivates you? If the former, consider how that title may be limiting how you think about yourself and value instead of your purpose. If you have not already, spend some time developing one…
Your Vision: This is an ideal world or a long-term goal that you constantly strive for. It paints a picture of what you hope to accomplish.
Example:
Revolutionizing the dining experience by creating the most intuitive menu experience paired with exceptional customer service.
To revolutionize how brands cultivate exceptional service and entertainment experiences for guests to guarantee all interactions create impactful moments and lasting positive memories and foster brand loyalty and engagement.
Your Mission: 1-2 sentences that clearly outline what you stand for, what is important to your brand and why you do what you do.
Example: To provide tools and training for teams to integrate guest data in ways that empowers them to deliver consistently optimized experiences for fans, transforming transactions into memories.
Once you have identified each (and they take time to do so), you'll want to consider the following to assess how strategically your business is aligned.
What tasks or activities are currently on your plate? How much time do each of these take up?
Of the tasks or activities currently on your plate, how many directly support the above stated mission or vision?
Of those tasks that are on your plate but do not directly support the mission or vision, why are you doing those?
If you realize that much of your day-to-day is already aligned with your vision, kudos! That is a big step towards success.
If you realize that much of your day-to-day is NOT aligning with your vision, you are not alone. It is very common to get bogged down in non-essential tasks and problems when there is not a clear vision to work towards. Now that you have that, prioritizing and realigning are your biggest opportunities. Focus on 2-4 specific, actionable tasks you can take THIS WEEK to begin along the path your vision.
Not sure where to begin with this? Contact us at team@evolvedexperiencesolutions.com and we can help you get started.