Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Business

The On-Purpose® Pal

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Meet The On-Purpose® Pal! He’s here to help you better differentiate purpose, vision, mission, and values.

Regardless of whether you are writing a purpose, vision, or mission statement(s) for your life or your business, having a clear understanding of each of these essential words and related concepts is likely the difference between being just good or truly great.

Life begins at your purpose. It is the heart of your heart. When your heart, head, and hands are aligned (in that order) within your values, then you are on-purpose. There is an order and relationship here that provides structural integrity.

Confusion around the very meaning of these words creates a muddled strategy. Unclear thinking undermines confidence and performance.

Yet few people or organizations really give the meaning of these core words of strategy a passing thought. What a costly mistake!

In organizations, imagine the bewilderment when each word carries different meaning to each person. Is it any wonder why a team can’t get on the same page?

By the way, on the personal side, you are not a purpose-driven person. You are a called person. Called by your purpose which is inherent to who you are. Think of purpose as your spiritual DNA. It just is! Therefore, your purpose is not dependent upon externals for value or validation. Are you getting a sense for the internal strength found in knowing your 2-word purpose statement?

Your natural desire to make a difference is really your purpose wanting to come into expression. This longing of the heart works to inform your mind and move you into action so your purpose comes to fruition. Your values guide your course for right and wrong while you are being and doing life (or work).

Attaching each strategic word/concept to a tangible body part makes the words take on a visceral and very real power. Regardless of whether your heart longs, breaks or sings, what’s happening is a meaningful matter. That’s because purpose lives at the heart of the heart. It is at the core of your identity.

If your head hurts, chances are you’re confused and conflicted and don’t have a clear vision for where you are headed. When you don’t know what to do, your mission is messed up. When your stomach turns, then your values are being compromised. Your body is talking if you’re listening. Pay attention!

“What should I do with my life?” Here is a mission or hands and feet question seeking an actionable answer. It is actually a surface question, however. Dig a bit deeper and the odds are high you may have a vision and/or purpose matter that precedes the mission question.

Values are essential governors of right and wrong. Violate your values and you gag and your stomach turns. This gut reaction is your body telling you you’ve made a bad decision.

Purpose, vision, mission, and values are meant to provide inner strength from above. Yet the incorrect use of these words rots the root of our growth and results in the challenges of modern life. Align your heart, head, and hands (and feet) within your highest values and you are On-Purpose! Get these concepts clearly articulated and you have given yourself a huge strategic advantage in life, business, or other endeavors.

Want to learn more? Click each cover to buy the book.

 

 

What Kind Of Business Owner Are You?

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Business owners are anyone with a job to do. 

In The On-Purpose Business Person I write about the Think Inc! mindset and the importance of taking on responsibility. Blame is the easily spread dung of cowards. They avoid consequences, but will revel in results.

To assume responsibility for leading one’s life and work is a heroic effort. To put oneself on the line along with the ensuing consequences (good or bad) takes guts. If you’ll simply get started with assuming responsibilities, you’ll be amazed at how it feeds your confidence and fuels your growth. Rarely will you blow it. Always will you learn from it. The more you attempt, improve, and succeed, then the more opportunity and increasing responsibility will come your way.

Hopefully, you have an executive coach or mentor who helps you sort and think through your responses and lessons when you miss. Also, the person can give you perspective when you hit the mark and help you raise the bar of the possible next.

One of the most important roles of a business owner is to set and create a culture or an environment. How well are you doing with those around you? We can be slack about it or intentional. We can encourage the taking of responsibility or we can crush it. The same holds true at home. It reflects an approach to life, marriage, rearing children, or volunteering for a committee at a not-for-profit.

As a result of this On-Purpose Business Minute, please challenge yourself to truly reflect on this important aspect of leading by taking responsibility for yourself, your actions, and your choices.

Just what kind of business owner are you?

 



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Videos That Inspire: Leadership, Business, & Entrpreneurship On-Purpose

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Welcome to KevinWMcCarthy.com!  Dig around my site for brief video answers to pressing questions on life, personal leadership, business strategy and management, entrepreneurship, and more.

Subscribe for free using the button to the right. On Tuesdays you will receive The On-Purpose Minute and on Thursdays The On-Purpose Business Minute.  I hope you'll enjoy these nearly 200 original motivational clips or minutes I've put together.

Post comments, ask questions, and explore your possibilities… on-purpose.  Welcome!

Kevin W. McCarthy

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Christian Women in Business: ONPURPOSE@WORK: Join me live on air Oct. 19!

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Christian women in business face unique challenges. Whether you're an entrepreneur, president, or CEO or simply dreaming of a small business start-up we'll explore the many opportunities and pitfalls of business ownership. (Men are welcome too!)

Jory Fisher has graciously invited me to be her guest on her radio show October 19 (Scroll below to call in and listen).  We'll address how you can be ONPURPOSE@WORK. I'll be awarding a scholarship to ONPURPOSE@WORK to a deserving entrepreneur so you'll want to tune in to listen so you can learn how to earn by being yourself, prospering, and making a difference. 

Be On-Purpose!
Kevin

 

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Details about Heart & Soul for Women of Faith

Heart & Soul for Women of Faith airs live Wednesdays at 12 noon Eastern / 9 am Pacific. To listen live online, click on Heart & Soul at BlogTalkRadio.com. To listen by telephone, please call 1.347.326.9296. If you wish to participate in the discussions either by phone or in the chatroom, you must register your name and email address first with BlogTalkRadio by clicking on “register” on the home page of the site.

All shows are archived on my BlogTalk Radio host web page for 24/7 access and for iTunes and MP3 downloads. They are also available on my website: www.womenfindpurpose.com

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Does This Sound Like TOP Performer?

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In 1998 when I wrote The On-Purpose Business, I shared the concepts of employee engagement on two dimensions: "Technical" and "Tingle."  Traditionally, most employers hired on the Technical merits of a candidate – how well they fit the job description.  With Tingle, the idea was to identify how well aligned the candidate / employee and the company were with purpose, vision, mission, and values.  In short, pay high attention to the culturally fit and cause connection.  The On-Purpose (TOP) Performers are those who bring both Technical and Tingle. 

Truly, I had heads of some very large organizations tell me back in the 1990s that I was wasting their time.  In one case I was hired and fired as a consultant to a hospital service organization to address massive turnover in a low skills job.  By simply rewriting the position posting and advertising to reflect and attract high tingle interest and seeing the job for what it could be, I calculated that my concept was worth over $250 million/year in cost savings system-wide.  Plus, it would have improved patient safety, care, and experience while easing operational tension. A ridiculous "waste of time," huh?

Fast forward now to the SXSW 2011 Conference in this Fast Company Magazine panel interview moderated by Anya Kamenetz and featuring Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), Chris Hoyt (@TheRecruiterGuy), and Scott Belsky (Behance).  Invest a minute and nineteen seconds to see what is discussed as the future of employee engagement. 

As forward thinking as The On-Purpose Business was in 1998, only about 10% of the concepts in this book are approaching the mainstream.  Most of this is because so few people really understand the power in purpose, let alone how to harness it for the good of self and society.

You are ahead of the curve… on-purpose!



 

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On-Purpose Profile: Carrie Wilkerson, The Barefoot Executive

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Photo This morning, I kicked off my shoes and listened to Disney Entrepreneur Center. 

Carrie plays in the noble space of helping professionals, business owners, those in career transition, and other self-employed persons work more successfully from home.  She trailblazed her way and is marking the path for others to follow in her footprints. 

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that I’m a fan of the creativity, productivity, profitability, and contribution that starting and owning a small business offers.  Business can be a pure vocational expression of your purpose, and, therefore, an opportunity to be on-purpose.  Because of a similar heart to Carrie, my On-PurposeME program is designed for the SOHO (small office, home office) start-up or running business owner.  You just can’t know enough.

Carrie is a great model for creating on-purpose work at home business.  Sitting in the front seat and I could see it in her eyes. She’s having the time of her life doing good while doing well with maintaining defined personal boundaries and a strong commitment to her marriage, family, and clients.

For years, I’ve been teaching that life balance is a myth.  Carrie shared those nearly identical words with those in attendence.  Coincidentally, my On-Purpose Minute on Tuesday was entitled: Do You Want More Balance In Your Life?  (Be sure to look for the link to my poem: A Balanced Life.)

Here’s my recommendation to you, visit Carrie’s website (click the banner below).  Subscribe to her email and video messages.  You’ll find that she brings a fresh encouragement and spirit similar to me when it comes to being true to yourself and taking the leap into business ownership.

Watching Carrie in action was educational and engaging.  If you are a fan of On-Purpose and fit the target audience of wanting to be a work from home business owner, then jump bare feet first over to Carrie’s website and get a little cyber sand between your toes.

Brand Backstory:

Carrie shared that in 2003 her husband, aka Mr. Barefoot, tagged her as the “Barefoot Executive” while she made the career transition from high school teacher to stay at home business executive / owner.  She was running around the home conducting business in her barefeet and he lovingly made the observation.   Carrie made note of his term of endearment.  Three years ago, she birthed her business of helping others make the great escape from the corporate world.

I had to chuckle when she said, “I’m from Texas.  We understand branding.  It is the way we keep track of our cattle and keep people from stealing them.”  It was a great reminder that business branding is rooted in some pretty practical stuff!  With Carrie’s help perhaps you, too, can leave your footprints in the sand… on-purpose, of course.

PS – yes, Carrie Wilkerson spoke to us in her jeans and barefeet!

PSS – Special thanks to my friends Wendy Kurtz and Roy Reed for organizing and inviting me to the event at the Disney Entrepreneur Center. 

Wendy Kurtz is President of Elizabeth Charles a niche PR firm that helps authors, speakers and executives get their message and medium into the media and into people’s lives.

Roy Reed is a Partner in Consensus Communications, a strategic public relations firm whose currency of choice is trust.

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