The other day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with ‘Firebuilders’ founder Josh Corporal to talk about crafting mission statements, the effects of reflection, and entrepreneurial drive & focus.
Crafting mission statements
“If you had to distill the first step towards getting a bit clearer on what that mission statement is, what would you say it would be?”
I sat back in my chair slightly, as this was quite the question!
My thoughts on mission statements have always been pretty simple.
Get the product out.
Let’s take a well-known company as an example…
“To accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass-market electric cars to market as soon as possible”
This is the mission statement of Tesla. They’ve had this statement since 2003.
There’s something missing.
It’s the specifics within that, the timeframe, the statistics.
The first thing I’d advise anyone who’s crafting a mission statement is this.
Is It specific enough?
Is it measurable enough that you can wake up each day, knowing that you can take one more step towards that?
If so, it provides you with a drive in the knowledge that every day, you’re that much closer.
We’re not creatures of instant action, so the specification of a mission statement can mean attaining the constant focus and having something realistically achievable now.
The effects of reflection
“As you reflect, and start to chip away at the reality of what you wanted, if someone did that consistently for 30 days, where would they end up?”
I’ll be honest here. It took me a long time to take that leap.
However, sitting in reflection, now I have that habit of tweaking, changing, reflecting…
You discover a good amount about yourself and what you want.
Your expectations/reality align that much quicker with this process.
A good friend of mine (Suzie Parker) once told me that I seem to be a person that ‘has it together’.
Someone who knows what they want.
On a macroscopic level, I know my goals, essentially, I understand my purpose on earth.
On a microscopic level, I find myself following a checklist, day-to-day.
It’s the faith that those small steps each day will translate to the large goals which help drive you forwards.
Coming back to the question…I couldn’t advocate reflection any higher.
30 days of it could change your life. It’ll transform it if you engage with the discoveries you make along the way.
The best thing about reflection is the changes don’t have to be large. You just need to be focused on what you truly want, and this is helped by simply reflecting.
Starting to listen to your body and its needs will be fantastic for your health.
Elon Musk…His drive mission, and focus
“Do you think that the billionaires of the world grew up thinking ‘I want to change the world’? Or do you think that the gradual impact they’ve had almost traps them in a way. The momentum is such that they can’t stop now?”
The biggest name on our lips, obviously, was Elon Musk.
His name in the industry is synonymous with success and innovation. However, I feel he’s forgotten the journey he went on. The mountain he’s trekked to get to where he stands isn’t important to him anymore.
He only intended to get to the top of his game, and then begin on his mission for life.
It’s the mission he cares about whether that be extra-terrestrial or otherwise.
I find myself watching the desire in him during interviews, equating each interaction with the media as one step closer in each of his engineering projects.
His vision isn’t on the ground and the monumental impact he’s having, it’s on the sky (and ultimately some could say the future).
I’ve got nothing but admiration for Elon, but I feel that because of the strength of his mission, his time isn’t spent on anything else.
A specific example of his attitude that I can think of, is when his engineering team came to him about the construction of a rocket.
They provided a concise set of costs for it, and he simply stated to cut that by a third. His drive for sustainable space travel is insatiable, and he demands that drive in everyone he works with.
Conclusions
I found the interview to be inspiring, and I’m glad I was able to have an honest exchange of discoveries that both Josh and I have made in our time in business.
