BJ#2a Your Personal Mission Statement

It is not for us to create our own mission. We need to discover the calling God has planned for us.

The highest calling for all man is "we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us 1 Jn 3:23". It is through knowing Jesus that we can truly know our Father God. It is with Jesus' love that we can love others. This is the NT extension of "Love God and Love others like oneself".

Man is a created being. Created being does not know the answer as to why he was created. We need the answer from the Creator rather than the created. As created beings, we can guess at the answer from the creation, but we will never really and truly know the right answer. Only our Creator can tell us why he created us for.

We need get the "Who am I?" answer from God.

A more meaningful and pertinent question is "Whose am I?"

It provides us relationship, identity and accountability. No one standalone. Identity and life is defined from how we relate to others. Knowing who I belong to, or have relationship with, is of vital importance.

Eph 1:4-5 tells us that God has chosen and predestined to be His sons through Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world.

The sequence of event is like this:

1. God planned to create men as His sons through Jesus Christ.
   
2. He created the whole universe for man.
   
3. After the universe is all ready, then He created man. The universe is designed for life - the life of man,
4. Man rejected God's leadership and bring forth sin and death.
5. Jesus Christ came to die for man and give them a rebirth of new Godly life.
6. Through acceptance of Jesus' redemption, man rebirths as Sons of God.

We are now God's sons. We belong to God. God is our Father. We are loved. As God's sons, we have God's righteous character and authority.

The Amplified Bible gives a very clear picture of our mission in Eph 2:10

• For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

God has a different calling or mission for each of us. His plan for us is good life.

• Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God gives us the instructions and ability too.

• Jos 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
  
• Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
  

Please remember that we are God's children with His attributes - creativity, ability and productivity.

We are blessed with talents and gifts for a divine purpose that God has created us for. It is up to us to discover what this is. This discovery process may take time. But, let's start now.

Additional information on this can be found in Bible for Business Seminar#4.

To find out how to write a Mission Statement, go to BJ#2 Have a Mission Statement

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BJ#0 Business According to Jesus TOC --|-- BJ#3 Vision Statement

BJ#8 Balanced Scorecard

Strategy is the "how" to realize our vision. BJ#6 Strategies talk about what make a good strategy. It must be shaped by our values, pursue with perfection, be about building relationships, communicated with branding, be positive, taking up initiatives, facing up realities & cut losses if necessary, be innovative and even working with competitors wisely.

However, Strategy must be described in a form that is detailed enough to be executable. The above qualities of a Strategy, like, "build intimate long term relationship with customers" is good strategic theme to start from but is not an executable strategy. Firstly, it is unclear. What does intimacy with customers mean? How can you tell whether a relationship is intimate or not. When will you be satisfied with the intimacy of a relationship ? So, to make a Strategy clear, we must be able to measure it. We can tend set a target to show the progress and the expectation that we want.

We would call "Build Intimate Relationship with Customer" as a Strategic Objective. We must then defined the measures, known loosely, as Strategic Drivers(SD) or Critical Success Factors (CSF) or Key Performance Indicators(KPI). One measure could be "repeat-business", "contract renewal rate", etc. It could also defined in rank/phases/steps forms, like 1-open tender bid, 2-invited bid, 3-closed-bid, 4-pre-tender discussion, 5-joint planning.

The strategy is still incomplete. We need to know how to build the intimate relationship. How do we engage the customer so that we can be his 'trusted' supplier'. Some may suggest frequent contacts. We must understand his needs. Others may say we need to have good and innovative value-proposition to help him be effectiveness. This PROCESS of engaging the customers must be documented and the procedure & system put in place. The Job description, known an Strategy Job Role, should be created and is to be filled by a "Sale-Person" who is trained to do the job well. For the Sales-Person to be effective, you may use computer systems (IT Application) to keep track of the past, present and future interactions, deliveries and plans of the customers.

If we have done a good job of knowing customers needs (sometimes thinking ahead of him and show him how his life can be better is important too) and deliver as our promised to him, he may be happy to reward us with orders and payments over a long time, giving the revenues and profits for our business to grow.

The "Stategy Map driven Balanced Scorecard" work of Kaplan & Norton provide a more complete and concise framework of Strategy Execution. Please refer to it for more details.

The key is that for Strategy to be executable, it be measurable, and must address the 4-6 perspectives of financial, customers, processes, learning & growth (HR job spec, IT infra, organization change) and others added employees and environmental perspectives.

Once the details are spelled out, we can tie the objectives to owners giving accountability and to tie them up with person/team rewards & incentives to provide the external motivators.

• Mt 6:4b your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
  
• Mt 5:12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven
• Mt 16:27 "and then He will reward each according to his works.
  

We then go on to the execution and subsequent monitoring and review of strategy execution.
When things did not turned up as expected (below targets or above targets), we may need to examine the causes - change the person, the training, process, to job spec, etc and even the strategy itself ( e.g. It could be that developing long-term intimate relationship is not suitable for the types of services, or products or the processes and competence of the company. The company may be better off, due to its existing culture and processes, people, and products or services, to pursue a different kind of strategy. e.g. lost-cost mass customer supplier)

The Benefits of Strategy Map
Strategy Map is a cause and effect linkage of objectives. Following it will result in focus and alignment of execution by all saving time and wastages. It starts with

1. Singleness of Objective:
Mt 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

2. Address the Key Issue, the King Pin
Mark 3:27 (KJV) No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

3. Focus by pruning

• Step 1 make sure there is fruit.
  John 15:2a "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away(lift up from the dirts);
  
• Step 2 optimization
  John 15:2b and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
  a. channel the energy towards the objective - the fruit
  b. cut away non-objective oriented activities - the leaves -good for show but no-value.

4. Get the Priority Right - don't loose Big because of Small things

Mt 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Mt 5:30 "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

See also Bible for Business Seminar#8 Resources & Balanced Scorecards

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BJ#0 Business According to Jesus TOC --|-- #BJ9 Financial Perspective

BJ#7 Resources

Before we design and execute our strategies, we must know about the special resources that Jesus has provided for us.

1. Jesus & Holy Spirit - Our Comforter & Guide
Jesus promised that he would be with us all the time Mt 28:20. He will not leave us as orphans Jn 14:18. He and His Father, our Heavenly Father will make Their home with us Jn 14:23. He will send the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth from the Father, to us Jn 15:26,16:8. They will give us the power, wisdom, guidance, help and whatever that is needed to accomplish His purpose for us when we are willing to abide.

We plan our future according to what we have. God wants us to take our eyes off relying on ourselves and our resources but to trust Him and see His plan for us. Planning according to our limited resources keeps us where we are. He who called us will also help us accomplish His purpose for us. In 1Ti 6:17, we are not to set our hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

In the 2 miracles of feeding the multitudes,

1. 5 loaves and 2 fish fed 5000 men with 12 baskets left over ... Mat 14:17-21
   
2. 7 loaves of bread and a few fish feed 4000 with 7 baskets left over ...Mat 15:34-37

The formula seems to be "the lesser the starting resources the greater the final impact".
Count on God and not be limited by what we have now.

You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth (Deu 8:18)


2. Word - Bible
The Bible is our "Instruction Manual" for a truly successful life. We need to refer to it and follow it in all our strategies. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

3. Authority
Believers have Spiritual Authority that non-believers don't have. As Believers, we should exercise our authority to command health, wealth, favors, and good relationships that we had in the spiritual world to be realized in this physical world. We can break through the obstacles that the enemy puts in our way. We are given authority when we heed Mat 28:18-20.

In Luk 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

1Jn 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

4. The Church or Body of Christ
We are not alone physically in this world. We have brothers and sisters in the Church of God that could help us. They can be our source of wisdom, encouragement, correction, and help.

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BJ#0 Business According to Jesus TOC --|-- BJ#8 Balanced Scorecard