In this week’s MSLD 641
Resonant Leadership blog assignment, we are asked to outline our ideal self by stating
our vision statement that was developed in Module 6 with three learning goals,
three milestones for each goal and the associated action steps for each milestone.
Additionally, identifying who will be in my support network to help me stay on
target to meet the goals and milestones is required. Finally, as these items
are documented, the format will be reflective in that it is written as a letter
to myself. This should be interesting!
Your Personal Vision Statement
In MSLD 641 assignment “GA
641.6.5TA – My Personal Vision Statement”, you identified yourself ideal self would
be in a leadership position where you can help people grow and realize their
potential while working on a project that is inspiring. More specifically envisioned
fulfilling this dream in a subunit of 15-20 people. This was your professional
ideal self. You shared with me that your Professor expressed concern that your
paper lacked the necessary depth to really find your ideal self and you have
done the extra mining that she suggested. The extra mining produced a vision of
becoming an entrepreneur and I have some suggestions for making this change.
Your professional goals translate
similarly to your life aspirations in that you have a strong desire to help your
family realize their own dreams. Do you really mean this…or do you mean you
aspire to help them come out of their dissonant state of mind so that they can
begin to have dreams? You mentioned that your family (Spouse, daughter and
brother) are in a state of dissonance, and if this is true do you really think
they even bother to have dreams if their minds are in a closed state due to
dissonance?
Let me remind you that
when people are in a state of dissonance, odds are they are not imagining what
their dreams are, but instead are in a flight or fight state of mind. Have you
forgotten what Boyatzis & McKee (2005) says about dissonance and stress? “It
seems that the brain simultaneously shuts down nonessential neural circuits,
meaning we are less likely to be open, flexible, and creative.” (p.43). With
this in mind, think about your learning goals very carefully.
Learning Goals to Achieve Your Dreams
Here are three very important goals, milestones and action steps
that I took when I opened my first business that I want to share with you. Additionally,
the first learning goal applies to both your business idea and your family
situation. Your situation may be different and may evolve as you go along, that
is to be expected.
Learning Goal #1 – Make
sure you have mastered the renewal concepts
With your home situation the way it is, your family life is
probably a bigger strain on your own well-being and is a significant player in the
sacrifice syndrome than work is. Add to that starting a new business and I can
see some real challenges ahead for you. The key to managing the sacrifice
syndrome is renewal and the key to renewal is through mindfulness, hope and
compassion (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005, p. 8). Renewal and gaining command of
the concept is a must have learning goal if you are to have a chance to succeed.
·
Master Hope – “Hope is defined as
the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate
oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.” (Synder, 2012).
o
Continue to sharpen your skills on Hope.
Your upbringing and the MSLD program has provided a very solid foundation in
this area for you. It is easy to get distracted, so do not lose sight of how
important a component having hope is.
o
Follow-up with your wife and daughter to
see how they are coming along in their meditation routines (The Calming
Collection by Roberta Shapiro) that is customized to instill hope by overcoming
their fears
o
Continue to instill hope in others. This
will provide a different dimension of renewal than having hope. Remember the elliptical
effect of hope. “We know that entrepreneurs invoke role models, invoke lessons of
life, invoke images such as a rainbow over Akabar River to keep them going when
the going gets tough.” Branzei (2013).
·
Master Compassion
o
Continue to sharpen your skills on Compassion.
Like with hope, your upbringing and the MSLD program has provided a very solid foundation
in this area for you. Again, it is easy to get distracted, so make sure you do
not lose sight of how important a component having compassion is.
o
Work with your wife and daughter on further
developing compassion for others
·
Master Mindfulness
o
Continue to sharpen your skills on mindfulness.
The MSLD program has given you a good foundation on mindfulness, so you have a
really good start.
o
You recently purchased a book “Mindfulness for Beginners”. Set a date
in the near future to have this book completed.
o
Begin a meditation routine. Set some time
aside at work and at home to do some meditation once a day, even if for only a
few minutes at first.
Learning Goal #2 –
Learn about small business development
Eric, you have an extraordinary will to succeed. Almost everything
you have set out to do, you have found a way to succeed with the exception of
one that is very important to you; that is moving up in the civilian workforce.
Learning about small business development will give you an important way out of
your current environment where progress has been stagnant over the past 15
years since you retired from the military. Creating the company that you have
thought about (HomeFree) since MLSD 521 can become a reality if you start
taking the steps now and lay the groundwork down.
·
Sketch out your basic vision of “HomeFree” to help the dream
begin to take shape
o
Think about who your customers will be
o
Adjust the image until it is inspirational
to your customer base
o
Think about the kind of labor force that
might be needed
o
Think about where you would like to locate
the business
·
Hiring disabled veterans is noble – Understand the challenges
they face
o
Make contact with a local chapter of a
disabled veterans group and establish relationships with people in the group.
o
Keep a journal of what you are learning
about the challenges veterans face.
·
Make contact with the Small
Business Bureau
o
Ask for a sponsor or a coach to help you
develop your plan.
o
Keep a journal of the important events of
creating your business.
Learning Goal #3 – Learn
about entrepreneurship
Learning about entrepreneurship will be a ‘must have’ if starting
your own business. “Being a successful entrepreneur means you have to wear
a lot of hats, especially when your company is just starting out and you don’t
have enough employees to cover all the areas you need.” (Patel, 2014,
para. 1).
·
Learn about marketing your product
o
Research the labor force in the area and
determine if it will support your needs.
o
Maintain an inspirational ‘why’ the
product exists when it is marketed (see below)
·
Use a narrative to build your brand (Denning, 2012, Chapter 5)
o
Build hope and compassion into the vision
of HomeFree.
o
Develop the vision of HomeFree and touch
the hearts and minds of your potential customers.
o
What you make and how you make it doesn’t
sell. Compelling vision on why sells (Sinek,
2009). Make your vision compelling and tell why your making what you make.
·
Learn how to manage your money
o
Set up a budget for home and keep separate
from the business.
o
Determine how much capital you’ll need to
start your business.
Build a Solid Support Network
Your
familiar with Intentional Change Theory (ICT). Do not take having a solid
support network for this type of change in your life. Think about it. Your
moving away from having worked for someone your entire adult life to starting
your own business at age 52. Without a good support network in place that you
can count on, making this magnitude of a change will be very difficult without
a good support network. You have several longtime friends and mentors in your
circle, but none with entrepreneurship experience. My advice to you would be to
establish some coaching and mentoring relationships through the Small Business Bureau
and possibly the Veteran’s Administration. Do a little ‘fishing’ and catch a
nice prize or two before getting to far along in the process. Of course you can
rely on me anytime to give you coaching and mentoring you may need, but gaining
perspectives from people not so ‘close’ to your situation will be needed to
provide the kind of feedback you will need.
Summary
I have no doubt that you can succeed
building your own business. From what you have shared with me about your
vision, I think it is very compelling and now the decisions to move forward
rest you with. I have provided some suggestions on how to begin to frame your
vision into reality. Now it’s your move.
References:
Boyatzis,
R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant
leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness,
hope, and compassion. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Branzei, O. (2013, April
17). Oana Branzei on the theory of hope. [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_pw4v7xXo&feature=youtu.be.
Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling:
Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. San Francisco, CA:
Josey-Bass.
Patel, S. (2014,
November 3). 15 free online learning sites every entrepreneur should visit. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238908
Sinek, S. (2009). How
great leaders inspire action [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249.
