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The Mission Primer by Richard and David O'Hattaron

Gast’s laws are based on enduring properties of human beings, and not on the specifics of a particular economic, political, or social environment..                                   

GAST'S LAW

Making a profit is not the main purpose of  a business.                        

THE METHOD

1.        Organize a mission team.
2.        Use Gast’s laws to construct the fundamental objectives of the organization.
3.        Use the fundamental objectives to construct the mission statement.
4.        Use the mission statement regularly and strategically.This book is a concise guidebook to help you develop an effective mission statement for your organization, whether it is small or large.

Walter Gast was a Professor in the School of Commerce and Finance at St. Louis University during the ’40 and ‘50’s.                         

GAST'S LAWS:

Law 1: A business must produce a want-satisfying commodity or service, and continually improve its ability to meet needs..      
Law 2:  A business must increase the wealth or quality of life of society through the economic use of labor and capital..      
Law 3: A business must provide opportunity for the productive employment of people.
Law 4: A business must provide opportunities for the satisfaction of normal occupational desires..      
Law 5: A business must provide just wages for labor..      
Law 6: A business must provide a just return on capital.                        

Values of Trust

Gast's laws are based on basic values of trust, respect for people, and quality that resonate strongly and naturally with all of us. The premise of this book is that Gast’s laws describe the objectives of a successful organization.                             

Mission Statement Required

A mission statement identifies the fundamental objectives of a business. . . .that is, a set of high-level goals that are neither time-specific nor quantified. Mission statements are used to guide organizations strategic planning effort, to help set day to day priorities, to evaluate new or on-going programs and to evaluate the policies and practices of the organization.        

WHAT’S A GOOD MISSION STATEMENT?
A good mission statement consists of a set of fundamental objectives that describe how an organization intends to comply with Gast’s laws.                  

Organize a Mission Team:

1. Use a representative cross section of the organization and charge them with the task of developing a mission statement. Brainstorm to list an initial set of values. Identify the values that are the most important to the group.
2. List values: Here’s a list of 40 values to show what a value is considered:

Accessibility        accountability        appreciation for resources        citizenship        clear identity         cooperation   dedication        dignity        empowerment       encouragement        enjoyment        enthusiasm        equity        excellence   financial fulfillment         flexibility         freedom    fulfillment of potential globalistic        happiness  humor    innovation  integrity  loyalty  mentorship        personal growth pride     quality product   respect for diversity           responsibility      reward     security     selfishness    sensitivity        teamwork unity  urbanism                     

 IDENTIFY Objectifies

Write down all of the suggested objects on tear sheets and fill up the sheets, paste them on the wall. Go over one by one. Eliminate some. Add some.                            

OBJECTIVES

Law 1:
A business must produce a want-satisfying commodity or service, and continually strive to improve its ability to meet needs.--the need to clearly understand the core business of the organization both now and in the future and – the need to continually improve its ability to engage in its core business.You can ask these questions:

1.        What industry are we in?

2.        What is our core business now?

3.        What do we envision our core business being in the future.

4.        Who are our customers?

5.        Who are our competitors?

6.        What geographic area do we serve?

7.        How are we different from our competitors?

8.        Where should we rank relative to our competitors? It is extremely rare to find a successful company that doesn’t continually improve its ability to meet customer’s needs. . . thus it is important to include that in your mission statement.

LAW 2
A business must increase the wealth or quality of life of the society through the economic use of labor and capital.This says that a both workers and managers have an obligation to contribute to society and to ensure that the organization produces high quality goods or services cost-effectively. The organization must provide appropriate management, systems, and resources. Employees must work hard to make the best use of the resources they are given.                            

Questions:

1. How does our organization help or hurt the community?      
2. Should we be doing more to help?      
3. Should we be doing less to hurt?  Recognition of the obligation to society and community appears in all of the model mission statements.

LAW 3
A business must provide opportunities for the productive employment of people. –This says a business is not required to hire people it doesn’t need, but if and when it does hire them, it assumes an obligation to work as hard as possible to keep them productively employed. Employees are respected and valued by the organization.This law describes a fundamental relationship between an organization and its employees, contractors, and suppliers that is based on trust and respect. Every mission statement must speak directly to these key values of trust and respect.

LAW 4
A business must provide opportunities for the satisfaction of normal occupational desires.—The organization has an obligation to create a great quality of work life for the employees. . . so that people enjoy coming to work and participating in the activities and goals of the organization. Such a place has its own built-in quality improvement program carried on by employees who want to see the organization improve and succeed.
Ask: 1. What are we doing to help employees learn and grow in their jobs.
2. What aren’t we doing that we should be doing?---This objective is to recognize the need to create a great environment for people to work, to help them develop professionally, and to be the best employees that they can be.

LAW 5
A business must provide just wages for labor.Providing fair compensation to all people that an organization deal with including employees, vendors, and subcontractors is completely consistent with the notion of respect for people. (from law 3-4)LAW 6A business must provide a just return on capital to the owners.          CONSTRUCTING THE MISSION STATEMENT for the organization….it is important to for as many people as possible to review and buy into the statement so that it is a useful tool in the day to day operation of the organization.            

USING THE MISSION STATEMENT

First. The head of the organization must believe in the mission completely and recognize it as an important tool. Second the most effective mission statements address all of Gast’s laws. Third, the mission statement is used on a daily basis and plays a significant role in the operation of the business. – in strategic planning, problem solving, in day-to-day decision making and in promoting the objectives of the organization.

If there was one book I would have as a reference book to use in today's open, transparent business world this is it. I suggest you buy this book and read it, digest it, and get to work on your mission statement as soon as possible

WEB COPY THAT SELLS by MARIA VELOSO

WANT A GREAT WEBSITE?

Fantastic Reference guide! You are going to need this book if your website, sales pages, or email campaigns are lagging. I’m writing this review as Maria suggests you write a web page:(it's a quick read. Scan it)

“WANT A GREAT WEBSITE?”

• HOW TO MAKE YOUR SITE NOT LOOK LIKE AN ADD.

• HOW TO STOP READERS IN THEIR TRACKS.

• HOW TO BE FRIENDLY, BUT SELL . . . REALLY SELL!

• HOW TO USE EMOTION TO SELL?

CAN YOU ASK?:

• WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

• WHY HASN’T THE PROBLEM BEEN SOLVED?

• WHAT IS POSSIBLE?

• WHAT’S DIFFERENT NOW?(NOW THAT . . . you can have my product)

This book is a step by step guide to making your copy, that is your web and email advertising, an effective tool to sell your products and services. It seems to set the standard. It’s a great reference book.

On the other hand, as in the movie industry with screenplays that are written with a set formula, when everyone writes the same thing, movies get pretty boring.So the key to using Maria’s book is to be original. To do that you have to understand your target audience and who you are speaking to and you have to understand your product or service.Exactly what are you selling?What makes movies great and what sells web products are the same thing. People are moved by emotions. The world’s dry, it wants to cry and feel and experience more than get up, go to work, come home watch TV; get up go to work, come home, watch TV.Probably the most important question in the book is this: Was emotion injected into the body copy? Have you injected emotional words and psychological drivers to replace your dry copy?

KILLER BOOK REVIEWER EXPOSES TRUTH!

IT MADE ME CRY!

IT MADE ME LAUGH!

I LOVED IT!

BUY IT

Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout

IT’S ALL ABOUT PERCEPTIONS

In the mind of the consumer you must use a differentiating idea to market yourself or your product. To build your brand you must use a differentiating idea and that idea must be simple and built around differentiation.

WHAT’S “DIFFERENTIATION?”

Within our product and service culture we are bombarded by endless choices . . . Millions of similar products and services impinge with demands to “buy, buy!” There is an ever expanding sea of categories and they are constantly dividing so more and more choices present themselves. The only way a product can stand out is to show that it is different from the rest. This is differentiation and the author say you must be unique to be a success.

LACK OF DIFFERENTIATION IS GROWING

Because of the gigantic spread of products and product categories, the author, Trout, cites the work of Rosser Reeves who codified the term UPS – Unique Selling Proposition. To counteract this trend of poor advertising focus in a gigantic sea of choices, advertises must return to these three principles;

                                   UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION
•        Each ad make a proposition to the customer.
•        It must be a unique offer.
•        It must move the listener/reader to action.HOW TO BUILD A BRANDI was very interested in this section . . . because I’m building my brand, Wisdomgame. Our logo is to Entertain, Educate, and Enlighten but our motto is “Serious Fun!”Trout says the most important aspect of branding is differentiation -- being different in the perception of the consumer. That’s easy to understand. If there are a million choices, there must be some reason to pick certain products. They have to be special, or different in some way.So I’m making my brand different.

Wisdomgame is not just fun. We’re “Serious Fun!”

UPS:  UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

He says “Since logic is a science, it’s logical that constructing a unique selling proposition should be a science, not an art. Here are the steps he gives;

1.        Make sense in context. What you really want to get is a quick snapshot of the perceptions that exist in the mind (the general “Mind.”)
2.      Find the Differentiating Idea. You have to be unique and one of a kind and find something that separates you from the competitors                      
3.    Have Credentials: Be able to demonstrate your products difference.
4.   Communicate your Difference. Change the perceptions of the consumer.Bottom line: Since a real differentiating idea is also a real motivation tool, you can’t over-communicate your difference. The lesson is not to try and tell your total story. You just have to focus on one powerful differentiating idea and drive it into the mind. (The general Mind).This book was a real eye opener to me and really helped me.

This book is very deep and goes on to explain human motivation and the needs of business in the age of the transparent Internet. I have only explained a small portion of “Differentiate or Die.” It’s full of very interesting examples from Mr. Trout’s extensive business knowledge and corporate experience as a marketer. I really enjoyed this book as it is written with a wry sense of humor. The depth of information is probably best suited to professionals, but if you’re interesting in the subject and if you take a little time to understand what he’s saying, your personal brand and your business brand will benefit greatly as you see the necessity of standing out by being unique. You must differentiate or die!

A fine book and very informative. I loved it. Five stars.

Buy it!
                                   

THINKING FOR A CHANGE by JOHN C. MAXWELL

1.  What does it mean to be a good thinker?
•    Unsuccessful people focus their thinking on survival.
•    Average people focus their thinking on maintenance
•    Successful people focus their thinking on progress   Are you are willing to change your thinking? Can you can change your feelings? If you change your feelings, you can change your actions. Changing your actions – based on good thinking – can change your life
.•   You can control you thoughts
 •    Feelings come from thoughts
.•    You control feelings by controlling thoughts. Once you become a better thinker, the good ideas just keep coming. Thinking is hard work; that’s why so few ever do it.Changed thinking is worth the investment. It’s investing in yourself and changed thinking is a gift you can give others.STEPS:1. Changing your thinking changes your beliefs.   
•        Change is personal – I need to change.
•        Change is possible – I’m able to change
•        Change is Profitable –I’ll be rewarded by change.

2. Changing your beliefs changes your expectations.Often the only thing that stands in a man’s way is the willto try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.A belief is not just an idea that you possess; it isan idea that possesses you.The first and most important step toward success is theexpectation that we can succeed.  

 3. Changing your expectations changes your attitude.Negative expectations are a quick route to dead-end thinking.      Positive expectations bring a positive attitude. They bring      excitement, conviction, desire, confidence, commitment, and  energy. If you would like to possess these qualities in great      abundance then raise your expectations.     

4. Changing your attitude changes your behavior.That which holds our attention determines our actions. Your behavior follows your attitude.  

5. Changing your behavior changes your performance.     Don’t ever be impressed with goal setting. Be impressed with goal getting.  

6. Changing your performance changes your life. When    you change your performance on a consistent basis you have the power to change your life.The Next LevelProgress always requires change. Going to a new level always requires changing your mind. (key: it’s who you associate with)

Thinking question: Is my desire for success and to improve my life strong enough to prompt me to change my thinking?3. Master the process of intentional thinking.Good thinkers are always in demand. A person who know how may always have a job, but the person who know why will always be his boss. Good thinkers solve problems, they never lack ideas that can build an organization, and they always have hope for a better future.    Putting yourself in the right place to think. Becoming a good thinker is not difficult. It’s a discipline. If you go to your special place. . . a designated thinking place. . . expecting to generate good thoughts, then eventually you will come up with some.    Find a place to shape your thoughts. Ask questions about your ideas. Fine tune them. One of the best ways to do that is put your thoughts in writing.

Thinking question:

Am I willing to pay the price to cultivate the habit of giving birth to, nurturing, and developinggreat thoughts every day?

This is a very insightful and useful book. It can change your life.I give it five stars.
 Buy it.

TRADE OFF by KEVIN MANEY

Why Do Some Things Catch On and Others Don’t?

According to Kevin Maney in his new book, “Trade Off”, the answer to this question is that products and services get stuck in an apathy zone. This is a place which exists between the most pleasing experience regardless of price and the easiest experience which is also the cheapest. Products and services that are tepid, neither super great nor very cheap and easy to obtain . . . these products languor and die. No one buys them.

Two Extremes Succeed.The first extreme he calls the “High Fidelity” product or service which is the total experience. It is luxury. People naturally search for ways to identify their socio-economic position in the world. The super-rich do it with luxury.The second extreme he calls "Convenience" which is defined as how easy it is to get something . . . with the caveat of a low cost. Cost is a factor for the simple reason that if something costs less it is easy for people to buy.

In the Trade OffBetween the two extremes of High Fidelity and Convenience there are all sorts of variations and degrees. Maney agues with experiential examples, anecdotes, and quotes from business power-houses that a successful company can’t do both. It can’t provide it’s customers with the luxury High Fidelity and the cost savings of Convenience.Mass Luxury? Impossible!

In fact, he goes further and says the fidelity/convenience trade off shows “mass luxury” is a fallacy.” The mass of people are concerned with ease and cost; luxury is about the total experience regardless of the cost. They can’t co-exist, . . . yet . . .There Is Always aTrade Off.Customers continually exchange fidelity for convenience and vise versa. Decisions, choices, and an uncertain future –that is -- life . . . means the customer is always either moving up or down the scale toward more luxury or more convenience. This is a constant trade off that is not static and is never fixed.Technology is the Kicker.Technology constantly improves both the luxury experience (fidelity) and also the ease and cost (convenience). If a product or service is high fidelity then tech will change it to higher fidelity. If it is convenient then tech will change it to be more convenient.

Indigestion?

The place between fidelity (luxury) and convenience (ease + cost) he calls the “Fidelity Belly.” This is a no-man’s land between the total experience and the cheap quick fix. No one gets excited about a product that has no fidelity and is only somewhat convenient. If you run a company, don’t get caught there. Don’t be tepid.The WinnersExtreme high fidelity (luxury) and extreme convenience (ease + cost) define the winners. All successful products and services fall at the ends of the scale between these two extremes, not in the middle. Don’t be tepid!

I found this book fascinating. The idea of a constant trade off between luxury and convenience, and the metaphor of a “fidelity belly,” made this book a great read. Behind this idea the author expresses his sentiment about our open transparent new society when he says“Our connection with others and our individual identity matter more to us than just about anything else.” He adds, “All other quality/convenience factors being equal adding a social dimension can change the prospect of a product or service.”Now, by reading this review you’ve  gotten the convenient experience of his book at a low price, in fact for free!If you want the fidelity experience, buy the book. It will open your eyes and you’ll see your product and service in a new light.An excellent book! Five stars.

 Buy it.

"TWITTERVILLE" by SHEL ISRAEL

Israel questions, do you want a personal presence or do you want a commercial one? Either way, it’s ... (continue)Wow! Synchronicity. Fate. Coincidence? The day after I join Twitter I discover a book by Shel Israel, “Twitterville,” with explicit instructions telling me how to approach my personal brand. Israel questions, do you want a personal presence or do you want a commercial one? Either way, it’s your brand. People will ‘follow’ you one way or the other, but what is important is open transparency. He says, “Twitterville is less about what you are doing and more about what you are paying attention to and willing to share.”

140 Characters

What I am writing in this sentence is the amount you are allowed to input at one time equals 140 characters.This is Me!

If you’re like me, and haven’t used Twitter, you input up to 140 characters at once . . . like you’re having a short talk with a friend. It’s a conversation, not a speech. It’s personal. In Twitter, what the rest of everyone in Twitter thinks about you is usually more important in most cases than brand identity. It’s about conversation, sharing, connections.Twitter . . . that is Twitterville . . . is a marketplace of ideas, things, and prejudices. It’s where people declare themselves.

Twitter

This Twitter is comprised of millions and millions of people who are building personal brands.

Points to Remember
• Show Yourself.
• Read first. Talk later.
• Post your own, follow later.
• Follow friends over stars.

Now you’re going to have to buy this book to find out more. It is a wealth of information about the internet, how to benefit from Twitter, and it also explains with examples how some large and small companies are using it to maximize exposures.

Very much useful information, websites, plus plus. There is a protocol and an ethics you must know before Twitting. Remember to start slowly, talk about what you like, and be yourself.This book was very helpful to me. I give it five stars.

Buy it!