Mission-Vision Statements



Mission Statements and Vision Statements are created to clearly convey the direction of the company. Companies without a meaningful Mission / Vision statement tend to be rudderless.

Mission and Vision Statements are all over the map. Some companies only have one or the other, while other companies will use a Mission Statement as a Vision Statement and vice versa. Used properly, Mission Statements and Vision Statements are powerful tools. They provide employees with a company direction. They provide the answer to which activities to pursue and which not to pursue. If an activity does not help your company move toward its vision, then don’t do it.

Mission Statements

The prime audience for a mission statement is the employees of the company. A Mission Statement should be concise. It should reflect the company’s business strategy and focus on the customer. It should answer three questions:

- What do we do?
- How do we do it?
- For whom do we do it?

What do we do? This question should not be answered in terms of what you are selling to your customer. It is about how your product or service solves their psychological need. Your customer expressed ‘frustration’ over some problem and by purchasing your product or service, their ‘frustration’ is now gone.

How we do it? This answer should deal with the product or service that you are selling, how you will sell it and how it is delivered to the customer. It should fit with the psychological need expressed above.

For whom do we do it? This answer should identify who we will be marketing to.

Geico example – It is important that when severe weather threatens, you know where to turn for information to ensure that you, your loved ones and your vehicle are safe. Auto damage adjusters from around the country will help handle the claims this storm season. These adjusters will remain in affected areas as long as necessary to take care of you and every GEICO customer.

- What do we do? When weather threatens, we want to make you feel safe
- How we do it? Use adjusters from around the country
- For whom we do it? Our customers

Vision Statements

A vision is a statement about what your company will look like in the future – say 10 years from now. A vision should stretch the organization’s capabilities and image of itself. It gives shape and direction to the organization’s future. It should be fairly short and easy to remember. Let’s look at some examples…

Microsoft example – Bill Gates’ initial vision was to have a computer on every desk. Employees at Microsoft worked to make the computer useful [applications that people wanted] and they worked to make it easy to use. Today, their vision is to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. The initial vision had more meaning.

Sony example – Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its motion picture, television, computer entertainment, music and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Their vision could be clearer, something like ‘Sony will be the most comprehensive entertainment company in the world’ or ‘the world will look to Sony for comprehensive entertainment’.

Boeing example – Boeing has a long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovation. We continue to expand our product line and services to meet emerging customer needs. This vision is rather vague – they should be proposing what they believe those emerging customer needs will be.

Aerovironment example – AV develops and produces Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Efficient Electric Energy Technologies that enable our customers to rewrite the rules – of engagement, productivity, efficiency and safety – to their advantage. Aerovironment is a small company that went public recently. Their vision statement is quite clear.

While doing this research, I found it much easier to find a vision statement from a smaller company. The bigger companies didn’t always post their vision. Smaller companies appear to be more in tune to their vision than bigger companies. However, I would suggest that it is a mistake for a bigger company not to have a vision statement. It provides direction. What will the company be selling in the future? What does our customer base want? It keeps focus on developing the product or service of the future. It promotes innovation. It keeps you ahead of your competition.

There is an old saying – If you don’t know where you are going then it doesn’t matter how you get there. But if you know your final destination [your vision] then you and your employees will choose the paths that will help you get there.

Stage Directing



So you finally went and saw a Broadway show with your wife and, believe it or not, you fell in love with the stage. You may think that stage directing is an easy task, when in all reality it is one of the toughest jobs in the entertainment industry. Stage directing takes skill, vision, patience and teamwork. Think you’re up for it? Let’s find out.

One of the very first things you must know about stage directing is that it is not like any other directing job. Movie and television directors get to have cameramen and editors to help make the final product look good. As a stage director, you do not have that luxury. The stage is a “one and done” experience. This means that your actors and crew only have one chance a night to make a perfect product. Some stage directors have six months to get ready for a play/ballet/musical/etc. Others, such as school drama teachers may only get a month, if they’re lucky. This means that you must work quickly and not dwell on tiny issues. A stage director must be able to see the big picture. Tiny issues would be wonderful problems to solve on the silver screen, but not here. This time limit also means that you must have a capable crew who can quickly and easily change from scene to scene. If you are directing a school play, take time out of your day to give one-on-one pointers to the crew kids. The time limit also means that your actors must be capable of their parts. When casting, look at previous works by the actor. If an actor has ever done Shakespeare, then it may not be a wise idea to cast him as Romeo. Sure, he played Danny Zucko in Grease, but Danny and Romeo are two different characters. Place that actor in a small role, so that he can try out his new dialect in a role that won’t affect the way the audience perceives the play. Mercutio perhaps?

Remember that stage directing does not come with a blockbuster budget. Some plays may not get money at all. You may even need to use sets and costumes from a production of Hamlet to make Oklahoma! But the creative minded director will make it work. Heck, change things up. Tell the audience beforehand that this will be a production of Oklahoma set in the Middle Ages. It will give your play a leg up that other stage directors do not have. It will give some people a good reason to come see a play, which don’t ordinarily go to plays.

This was just a simple introduction to stage directing that everybody needs to know that tries to make it in the business. Remember, most people start of small with a few school plays, then an off Broadway production or two before they get a huge hit. So don’t be to upset if you don’t become a huge success right away. Nobody is. Break a leg!

Jeff Dunham – A Master of Hilarious Personality Disorders



Dressmakers design and model clothes on dummies; that’s a whole different department of dummies. Jeff Dunham’s creations are dancing, singing, cussing folks, as real as the guy next door. Ventriloquism is a very old art, and Jeff Dunham has come pretty close to perfecting it. Certainly he’s come close enough for his millions of fans.

Jeff says that “throwing your voice” is something most anyone can learn, like juggling. Of course, he doesn’t “throw” his voice. He just uses it in conjunction with a couple of his other amazing talents, like engineering and comedy. Add to all that a super-quick mind and an irresistible personality, and you’ve got a knockout. Jeff Dunham and his oh-so-believable, obnoxious and hilariously funny bunch of ‘dummies’ have insulted and enthralled just about everybody they’ve met.

Beginning in the 1980′s, Jeff Dunham has been touring the comedy club circuit all over the United States. When he appeared on The Tonight Show in 1990, he became one of only five comedians in Johnny Carson’s 30-year tenure to be invited to “the couch”. While continuing to average 250 live shows on the road during the year, Jeff also makes his presence known in all areas of the media. He and one of his pals, Walter, did a very effective commercial for Hertz. At his first appearance on Comedy Club Central Presents in 2003, he introduced his early version of four of his sidesplitting cohorts, and he has just gone on from there.

Jeff and his “company” have made an appearance on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes II and Entertainment Tonight, just to name a few. He has twice been named the “Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic” at the American Comedy Awards. Comedy Central voted him Number One in their “Stand-Up Showdown” in 2008, and the man just keeps getting better.

Jeff Dunham also has three specials under his belt. The first one, taped in 2006, was “Jeff Dunham: Arguing With Myself” – “myself” being four different puppet personalities. It gets confusing! The second, in 2007 was “Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity”, when he brought out Achmed the Dead Terrorist, to great delight (and minor flack from some Muslims). Achmed offers a disclaimer: “Look on my butt. It says ‘Made in China’!” On “Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special” the gang performed some very special songs which were later released on the music DVD “Don’t Come Home For Christmas”. That one includes Achmed’s version of “Jingle Bells”: “Jungle Bombs”. It’s horribly funny.

Each of Jeff’s remarkable suitcase (not “stable”) full of characters represents a shrewd and biting satire of familiar stereotypes. Walter is the grouchy and highly opinionated “old fart” who has a disparaging word for just about everybody and everything. Jose Jalapeno, the Mexican pepper-on-a-stick, is imperturbable but gloomy – and very funny. Sweet Daddy D is a player in the management profession – a P.I.M.P. He says he’s Jeff’s manager, which makes Jeff a “ho”. When Jeff says he does comedy just because he loves it, Daddy D tells him that just makes him a “dumb ho”. Then there’s Peanut, some kind of Micronesian creature, who likes to get right in Jeff’s face. There are more of these characters, and you really ought to meet them. They’ll make you scream with laughter while they throw insults at you, each other, and the rest of the world.

One rather understated description of Jeff Dunham is ‘multi-talented’. This guy designs and builds his own puppets with truly awesome engineering skill – self-taught! Then he proceeds to inhabit them with his own tremendous wit and insight. It is almost scary to watch him making fun of celebrities and crooks (often one and the same) through his wood-and-plastic sidekicks. No one is immune to his insults, including himself. The wonderful thing about his humor is that even his sharpest barbs make their recipients break out laughing at themselves Now that is quite a feat.

If all this hasn’t convinced you to go see Jeff Dunham, or get one of his DVD’s, or both – well, not a problem. You will just be missing out on the funniest and most talented ventriloquist alive today, not to mention the smartest dummies you’ll ever meet. Believe it, you really don’t want to do that!

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