More Than WE Know

Lately I’ve been reading Guy Kawasaki’s book The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that Guy is one of my sources of inspiration. I admire his message that the best reason to start a business is because you want to create a product or service that makes the world a better place.

Guy’s new book has a lot of great advice for entrepreneurs and entrepreneur-wannabe’s.  One topic he discusses is the value of mission statements (little) and mantras (a lot). 

A mantra is a short, pithy statement of what you are all about, intended to inspire and focus your employees and yourself. It is different from a mission statement in that it is short, powerful, and focused. It is different than a tagline because its intended audience is internal, not external customers.  You may never write it down, but you will live it every day.

As an example, Guy gives the official mission statement of several well-known companies and then his  hypothetical mantra.

ex.  Southwest Airline’s real mission statement: “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company Spirit.”

Guy’s hypothetical mantra: “Better than driving”.

You choose - Which one is more powerful, more emotional, and more focused? 

After reading Guy’s book, I gave some thought to my own mantra. 

I came up with:

Strengthen Women

At first I thought of “Empower Women” - but when I looked up the definition of empower I read that it means to grant someone power.  This implies to me that I have power, you don’t, and I am being so kind and generous as to grant it to you.  Not.

Then I read the definition of strengthen which means to help someone increase their strength, and is synonymous with buttress, reinforce, fortify, and support.

So to me this implies, that you are already strong and that through the support of this site, you can grow even stronger.   That sums up what More Than WE Know is all about - WE already know so much more than WE realize - WE just need each other to remind us.

So, what is the mantra for your company?  What words make your toes tingle, your eyes light up and a smile come to your lips? 

And if that sounds like love, you’re right.

What do you love about your business, your goal, your life and the difference you are making to the world? 

I’d love to hear your answer.

And if you’d like to read more of Guy’s book, The Art of the Start, he is giving away the first chapter (cause that’s the kind of Guy he is).   click here-> Art of the Start.

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