What is your True Mission?

I have traveled over 60,000 miles just to get back and forth between work the last 3.5 years.  I believe I know every bump, twist, and turn on I-65 between Nashville and Kentucky.  I have used the drive time to think, reflect, wind down, and to simply enjoy the freedom of traveling.  Sometimes I would turn the radio on and sometimes I would travel the 3.5 hours in silence.  But almost every trip, I would call my granddad.  And my last trip up to Kentucky today was no exception. 

Sometimes my granddad tells me stories that I have heard before.  Sometimes I hear new ones.  But every call is a time to catch up on what is going on in his life and to check in on how he is doing (he's 97!).  Today, he told me about a leak in his roof and how it is peeling the paint on the ceiling and the walls of his kitchen. He called an old, trusted friend to come out and work on the leak.

How ironic I thought.  I am going to work for a roofing company next week and my granddad is telling me about the leak on his roof.  But I think the timing was perfect.  It emphasized to me what the main mission of the roofing company should be.

I have read several books about companies that excel in the marketplace and how they differ from average and good companies.  Each one of the leaders of those companies had a focus that isn't obvious at first glance.  Starbucks mission is not to sell coffee, it's mission is to enrich the lives of others.  Tony Dungy's goal was not to lead the Colts to a Super Bowl win, it was to develop leaders that lead others on the team.  Dan Cathy's mission is not to sell chicken at Chick-Fil-A, but rather to positively affect the lives of it customers and community.  Mark Zuckerberg did not set out to create a $19 Billion company, he wanted to bring community together. 

So, I don't think the mission of SRSI is simply to do a good job of putting roofs on houses and businesses.  I believe the mission should be to provide peace of mind to a home owner or business owner. I believe that SRSI should be focused on providing comfort to its customers. Of course, every team member should be focused on providing protection to the owner's largest investment.  But more than anything, I believe SRSI should strive to affect its customers and community by demonstrating a level of caring that surpasses all of our customers and community expectations.

And if we can fulfill that mission, sales and revenue and profits will take care of themselves.

How about you? What is your true mission?