Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

values

What Are Core Values?

By

Purpose and values are strongly related. Purpose precedes values. Purpose is by definition good. Values without purpose being inherently good can be easily abused. Values, you'll discover, will often be in conflict.

How does one resolve a values conflict? Your purpose provides the swing vote or trump card if needed.
For example, most people would say that a value such as "Family first" makes a lot of sense. Now consider that if that family is the mob and you as a family member happen to cross the family. Another value kicks in—you cross the family, you die. Murder, even an "honor killing" is still murder.

The values came in conflict! A purpose statement that is by definition "good"—a rather biblical concept from Genesis or "of God"—has a higher probability of engaging our deeper spirit or consciousness that murder is absolutely wrong regardless of the circumstances.


I'm sharing with you this brief Simple Truths movie about core values. It offers a solid "core" reasoning for investing in knowing your values and better knowing yourself.

Are you ready to clarify and write your purpose and values plus vision and mission? Enroll today in The On-Purpose Leader Experience. The next six-week cycle begins October 23. Watch a free one-hour preview and enroll at this same site—discount prices currently show in the shopping cart, too, so you can save $50 or $70 on your enrollment for one or two persons.

The On-Purpose® Pal

By


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 Might You Miss?

By

For the longest time you've promised yourself you would work the
process in The On-Purpose Person, right?  But you haven't!  Today you make good to yourself on your promise.

Join me for The On-Purpose Leader, a six-week
experience in being on-purpose that can transform your life.  Here's your
chance to do right by yourself.  You will:

  • Clarify and organize your life around what matters most
  • Write your statements of purpose, vision, missions, and values
  • Gather, mix, and mingle with other On-Purpose Persons
  • Gain membership to a 24/7 private web group supporting your journey
  • Ask questions of Kevin on conference calls and in forums and
    discussion groups
  • Have a workbook with everything you need to work the process

Register
Here For Session One.  It is free and no credit card is
required for registration.   You will need to be registered in order to
get passwords emailed to you for both the live session and the replay. 

Enroll today in the full six-week experience and take advantage of the early bird savings (use code: EARLYBIRD28).  Enroll with a friend and your investment is $1.80 each per day!  Click on Enroll
today,  scroll down, and look for the Companion Special (2 persons for only $150). 

Register
Here For Session One.  It is free and no credit card is
required for registration.  You will need to be registered in order to
get passwords to both the live session and the replay.

Related
articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

The Folly of Self-Diagnosis

By

As I dropped my car at the garage, I told the mechanic, "I think my muffler is broken."  Later that day when I picked up my car, the mechanic informed me there was nothing wrong with the muffler.  After paying his bill and starting my car… the darn noise that began the auto repair visit remained.  I asked the mechanic about it.  He said, "You asked me to check the muffler." 

Just shoot me!  I left the car for another day and made additional transportation arrangements.

Yesterday, my wife told the refrigerator repair man, "I think the gasket needs to be replaced because the refrigerator door doesn't stay shut."  He was better than my car mechanic.  After a quick visual, he informed, "It is worn but is working.  Your hinge isn't set right."  $125 later we had a hinge adjustment.  Only problem is the refrigerator isn't cooling. We thought it was the door being ajar.

The folly of self-diagnosis is real.  Unless you are an expert on something, don't do the diagnosis.  Speak in terms of the problem, not the solution.  

A friend of mine, Chris, is a brain and spinal cord surgeon.  If I'm
having a headache, do I tell Chris, "I think my cerebral cortex is
swelling.  You need to check for a tumor."  Absurd! But we all do this kind of self diagnosis regularly.  My goal is to get out of the habit.

Consider your area of expertise.  When you're working with customers or
clients who don't know what you know, do you find it odd when they
start telling you how to do the job they hired you to do?  Why did they come to you in the first place?

Here at On-Purpose Partners, we help individuals and organizations write their core strategic statements of purpose, vision, mission, and values so they have a fighting chance to be on-purpose.  Some people want to debate our terminology and approach.  I always invite clients to read my books before they engage us to ensure they understand where we're coming from before they invest their hard earned money working with us. 

Often, it doesn't matter.  They argue.  We're delighted to clarify and explain the difference between purpose, vision, mission, and values, but why debate it with us after you've hired us.  We're pros at this.  Let us do the diagnosis.  Tell us your problems.  Let us practice our craft.

Candidly, pride is why we're all guilty of self-diagnosis.  I don't want to look stupid in front of my mechanic because I'm a guy.  I'm supposed to understand cars and engines and mechanical things.  Right?  Wrong.  I'm clueless.  Faking it to impress the grease monkey tells him I'm both stupid and a phony.

These days, I tell my mechanic, "My car is making a weird and loud noise.  I haven't got a clue what it is."  Instead of faking my way to repeated repair visits, today I confess my ignorance, find the most honest mechanic I can, and throw myself at his mercy with an open line of credit.  My favorite question, "If it were your wife and kids driving in the car, would you do the repair?"  My automotive bills are high, our cars run fine, I have fewer visits, and I have no pretense.

About twenty years ago we had a father and son living next door who worked on their own cars.  I observed to Judith one day, "Every weekend they're working on their cars to get them working.  I don't even crack the hood of my car and it runs fine."  What's the moral there?  Those who do… who don't know they don't know.. do more of what they don't know. 

Let's call it personal outsourcing.  Judith is calling the refrigerator repair guy back today to say, "My refrigerator isn't as cold as I think it should be." It will probably be another $125 or more.  The compressor is probably shot!  Oops!  Did I just do a self-diagnosis?

Do you have a story where self-diagnosis got you in trouble?  Share it in the comments so we can all learn and laugh.

Profile: St. Lukes Cathedral Church, Orlando, FL

By

Cathedral
Can a church be on-purpose? 

The Very Reverend Anthony P. Clark and I worked together to articulate the Purpose, Vision, Missions, and Values for this Downtown Orlando church. 

Purpose: Revealing Majesty

Vision: Shaping Living Stones

Missions:  Gather, Heal, Send, Renew

Attached is Pier Review, a publication by St. Luke’s Cathedral Church (pictured to the left). Beginning on page 2 is a more in-depth article by Dean Clark about being an on-purpose church.  You’ll also see that the cover article is about being on-purpose as well.

Yes, a church can be on-purpose.  The purpose statement for St. Luke’s requires a bit of historic perspective.  During the Dark Ages when many of the world’s great cathedrals will built the goal was for the common person to draw inspiration from the majesty of Christ.  These buildings were to be modest reflections of God’s glory despite their scale and beauty.  Here the average person could begin to get a sense of who God is.  While the physical presence provided a visual message and statement, it was truly the intent of the designers to stir the hearts of worshipers as to the overwhelming greatness of God and his love for them.  It seemed only natural then that Dean Clark seized upon such a powerful and meaningful articulation of a purpose statement like: Revealing Majesty. 

Please download and read the articles to learn more.

Download pr_june.pdf

Time Management: Myth or Missing Link

By

Too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.  For most of us that means it
is time to turn to time management.  Courses and seminars in time
management, software packages, PDAs like the Palm, and good old
fashioned daily planners like a DayTImer, Franklin Covey Planner, or Day
Runner, all hold great promise to help you get your life on track.  And
they do!  Kinda.  Mostly.

Time management is a smokescreen masking an underlying
problem.  Sure time management systems allow you to manage events, set priorities, plan your day, and schedule your appointments.  But are you making progress in life or are you just moving around meetings and activities?  Have you just become more efficient at being ineffective?

Solve the underlying challenge of why you need time
management and your time management problems narrow significantly.  In the end, it isn’t the tools and technology or time management that make a difference.  It is you!

[Read more…] about Time Management: Myth or Missing Link

How do I find my purpose in life?

By

This is one of those questions that comes up hauntingly too often.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.

Please, allow me give you the short answer about finding meaning and purpose in your life so you can get started.

Grab a sheet of paper and a pen.
Answer the question, “Why do I exist?”
Write everything you can think.  Do a brain dump.
Once you’ve completed this, distill your pages into one page.
Then, distill your one page into a paragraph.
Reduce that paragraph to a sentence.
Reduce the sentence to two words.
The first word is an action verb or gerund (ends with an “ing” like liberating, awakening, or igniting).
The second word is an object.
Give these words a generic beginning of, “I exist to serve by…”
Now you have written your purpose statement.
[Read more…] about How do I find my purpose in life?