The Borchert Manifesto: A Case for the Family Mission Statement

Welcome to the MLab Blog! Thank-you for spending your precious time with me. I am fan of the “better done than perfect’ perspective: my goal on these pages is to encourage hope and to share ideas and concepts that have helped me practically, emotionally, relationally, and professionally. Today, I want to make a gentle case for the Family Mission Statement, a written expression of a family’s purpose and values; a compass for grounding, decision making, and refreshed direction.

In our professional lives, some of us have felt the unification of a powerful Mission Statement. Businesses spend a ton of time and money determining mission, clarifying values, aligning team members, and evaluating metrics. There is a strong case, both in terms of margins and employee satisfaction, for getting everyone pulling in the same direction. However, it is rare that an individual or a couple apply this same amount of intentionality to their family unit, despite the powerful benefit it can have.

Family life is demanding and emotional; it can feel daunting to begin the process of creating a Mission Statement at home, especially when there are so many urgent and critical tasks to address. Spurred by my reading of Stephen R. Covey's “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” James and I have had a Family Mission Statement since 2014. It was difficult to make it a priority and sometimes I was frustrated at our lack of alignment. For example, James wanted adventure (novelty, risk and refreshment) as a central theme for our family while I wanted to invest at home (security, familiarity, rest). As we worked to clarify what these words meant and how our family could work towards them, the result was exciting and validating.

There is a richness in dipping below the surface, in really listening to understand and taking on a partner’s perspective: I am a mom that is learning how to ski largely because of our Mission Statement; James and I were able to clearly evaluate the costs and benefits of an ambitious but aligned property purchase because of our Mission Statement; Our daily morning exercise and our evening side-by-side reading practice solidified after we explored the importance of these rituals for health, connection and rest while creating our Mission Statement.

My Personal and Family Mission Statements can quickly bring me back to a healthy mindset when fear, doubt, and insecurity start to crowd in. The hard reality is that adversity strikes us all, even those who seem to walk around gracefully unscathed. Everyone is walking a journey with visible and invisible wounds. Adversity gives us depth, skills, and knowledge that are not available without these trying times. The key to unlocking this learning is deciding to look inward versus looking outward, asking “What am I feeling? What am I scared of?” instead of “Who can I blame?”. It is offering ourselves compassion in the same breath as a gentle reminder of who we want to be in this world.

For me it is this document pinned above my desk in our kitchen, as much aspiration as reality, that reminds me to seek “the richness of life in the quiet, loud and in between moments” and when I read it, I refocus my gaze toward my family, take a deep breath and I try again, to live it.

Borchert MLAB Mission Statement 2021.pdf

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