Our vision:
To create a positive impact on the lives, success, and finances of our customers, partners, employees, and community.
The statement isn’t long, but it says a lot. Each and every word of our vision statement was arduously contemplated, considered and literally worried over.
Unpacking The Vision: Positive Impacts on Lives, Success, and Finances
What does this mean? We want to create a positive impact on each and every person we interact with daily. As such that positivity is measured differently by different people in a variety of differing circumstances. But our impacts (our results) must be perceived and received as positive. This is kind of a spin on the final test of the “4-way test” used by Rotarians which is: “Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?”
I believe that all successful relationships are naturally mutually beneficial. So, we want to create a positive impact on everyone we encounter and work with.
Life Impacts
Specifically, we want to have a positive impact on their life. I really think that this is a greater purpose. Even greater (and thus first on our list) than money or finances (although that too is on our list). If the people we are surrounded with have better lives, truly improved because of our relationship and interactions with them then the first part of our vision is successful. Better lives might mean that they have a better work experience (as an employee or even as a partner). Better lives might mean that a customer has to worry less because they know that they are in good hands. Better lives might mean that after any interaction the person walks away with a smile. We need to positively impact the lives around us and improve them in some meaningful way.
Success Impacts
We also want the people we interact with to have success. Again, this is measured differently by different people in differing situations. But if they are having success then it’s another win. To accomplish this, we must naturally determine what they view as success. It’s important to know. If we don’t know what “they” consider to be a success, then how can we achieve this vision? A customer might measure success through an ad campaign that works well, then again some of our customers are employees of the companies that they work for so success might mean that they get a promotion or a raise. An employee might consider success in learning something new, developing a new skill set, or getting recognition. Then again, an employee might consider success simply making a good living and not having to work overtime, having a flexible work environment that allows them to go to their child’s school play. Each person measures success in their own way. It’s our responsibility to determine what that person sees as success and then help them achieve it.
Financial Impacts
Finally, finances. This is the most obvious and the easiest to measure. We need to have a positive impact here. For all on the list. Our customers need improved positions, whether that be through reduced costs or increased revenues or a combination of both. Our partners need to do the same. And our employees need to make a good living while delivering these results. It goes back to the initial statement is it beneficial to all concerned. In short, is the relationship a “Win-Win”? Because if we achieve our vision then everyone wins.
Community Impacts
Along the way here I’ve talked about the impacts on the lives, success, and finances of our customers, partners, and employees but I’ve left out an important part of our vision statement. Community. Naturally, if we are having positive impacts on the former, we are going to have a positive impact on our community and the greater world community as a whole. Through increased revenues, we’ll increase job opportunities both in our own community and the communities of our customers and our partners. Through positive interactions and improved lives, our communities will benefit, but these community impacts are but a part of what our vision means. We have a distinct responsibility to 2 different communities. One in which we live and work, and one in which is not as easy to define.
Our Local Community
Each day we at That! Company live and work in a rural county outside of Orlando Florida. Lake County (our home) has improved in recent years. I would hope that our efforts as a local company have contributed to that improvement.
Economy in Lake County, Florida
Lake County has an unemployment rate of 3.4%. The US average is 3.9%.
Lake County has seen the job market increase by 3.9% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 51.2%, which is higher than the US average of 33.5%.
Tax Rates for Lake County
– The Sales Tax Rate for Lake County is 7.0%. The US average is 7.3%.
– The Income Tax Rate for Lake County is 0.0%. The US average is 4.6%.
– Tax Rates can have a big impact when Comparing Cost of Living.
Income and Salaries for Lake County
– The average income of a Lake County resident is $24,103 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year.
– The Median household income of a Lake County resident is $45,465 a year. The US average is $53,482 a year.
(reported by: https://www.bestplaces.net/economy/county/florida/lake and https://datausa.io/profile/geo/lake-county-fl )
The jobs we create are well above the median and average incomes locally by a considerable amount. But it’s not enough to create good jobs. Our community has other areas that need our help and we must help.
It’s not enough to create good jobs. Our community has other areas that need our help and we must help.
12.8% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Lake County, FL (41.4k out of 322k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 13.1%. And while we are slightly better than the national average it’s not good enough.
olving poverty is NOT a short-term proposition. It takes a long-term solution. In Lake, the graduation rate was 84.1 percent, one of the lowest high school graduation rates in all of Central Florida. The solution to poverty is education and the measurement is high school graduation rates.
A number of years ago, That! Company founded an educational initiative in conjunction with the Lake County Educational Foundation called Red for Ed which is committed to providing school supplies for disadvantaged children in our community.
Making sure that our students have the necessary school supplies so that they can learn is one way in which we can and do help solve the problem of poverty in our community. This keeps teachers from having to reach in their pockets to buy school supplies for their students. This initiative improves the lives, success, and ultimately the finances of our teachers, their students, and ultimately our community. Every year since its start the initiative has continually grown and increased the collection of school supplies (measured in TONS). We need to keep this initiative alive and GROWING.
Keep Reading
As I mentioned earlier, we have a responsibility to 2 distinct communities. The one in which we live and another which isn’t as easy to define. The second community is the Internet. A community in which My employees and I work in each and every day. I invite you to continue the journey and read “Our Internet” where I will further unpack our responsibility to this community and perhaps you too will find that you share my vision and can join us in creating a positive impact on the lives, success and finances of the Internet as a whole.
Further Reading about That! Company’s Mission
A vision statement is but one of 2 parts, alongside every vision statement is a mission statement. The vision defines “why” (read: creating a perfect vision statement) while the mission statement answers the “how.” I also invite you to read That! Company’s Mission Statement.
If you’d like to offer feedback (I invite it) please fill out a form on this site with your thoughts.
Authorship: Ken K.