“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
Down through the
centuries, the meaning of July 4th
Creating Culture Out of
Mission, Purpose, Values and Goals
Revolutionary history
is all around LaserShip. From just
outside Boston where the first gunshots were fired in our Revolutionary War, to
Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was adopted, to nearby
Richmond where the Revolutionary War ended, to Washington, DC where the
founding leaders established the national capital: The original 13 colonies is
the backbone of LaserShip’s delivery footprint.
What we celebrate tomorrow as “Independence Day” was the July 4th
1776 adoption by the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, of the
final and formal Declaration of Independence.
The declaration was more than a statement proclaiming a split from
Britain, it was a document which gave purpose to an effort—the war to secure
independence—that had been going on for more than year at that time.
The founders, in writing and
adopting the declaration, wanted to give to the world, to the residents of the
13 colonies and specifically to the uniformed troops fighting under General
Washington, both a full practical explanation as well as the philosophic
foundation for their actions. The document spells out the real-world injustices
committed by the King of England against the better interests of the colonies;
it also puts the whole argument in terms of a visionary and philosophical
yearning by humans for fundamental and individual rights…”Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness.”
The Declaration of Independence, which
George Washington ordered read to his troops in New York on July 9th,
1776, in effect, provided a renewed sense of purpose for the soldiers of the
new Continental Army; a renewal which ultimately led to victory in what was an
eight year long and difficult struggle to secure the independence of the United
States of America.
The idea of the United States was set in motion by a vision of the
founders, and then shared by these forward-thinking men through the Declaration
of Independence; it resonated (word of the day) throughout the land made it a
shared vision of the new nation leading to a sense of mission to create a
living-space based on fundamental Core Values.
The declaration infused into our culture most of what we have come
to believe and value as a nation. Our noblest ideals and highest
aspirations—our beliefs in liberty, equality, and individual rights—came out of
the Declaration of Independence.
Words, after all, have
meaning, purpose and longevity when acted upon—they are important to the growth
of a strong, positive and meaningful culture. The Declaration of Independence,
in effect, is much like current organizational Mission, Value and Goal
statements. These statements, like the
declaration, provide a reason for being, why we take certain actions, what
those actions should be, what we believe in and what we desire to achieve—they
are the cultural touchstones of organizations.
As with the Declaration of
Independence, businesses find it important to communicate a clear vision from the founders’ perspective, including purpose,
value and goals. Purpose defines the fundamental reason why an organization
exists. Values define how people are to behave as they work towards the
purpose. Goals focus the people’s energy towards accomplishing the
purpose.
Our purpose at LaserShip is to provide meaningful services that
connect people the things they need, to build an organization made up of
growing, learning and earning people sharing our long-term outcomes, and to
provide a return on the investment made in the company.
We do this by believing in our ability to create meaningful,
long-term relationships with the people we serve and who provide the service by
focusing on the Values of integrity, quality and professionalism.
Our goals are to grow the business so that we can provide service
to more people, be an always improving, challenging and satisfying place to
work, and to demonstrate the value of all of it by being profitable.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” and many of us do. For others who are new or not fully
introduced to our culture, it is important that we continue to communicate and
demonstrate to all our Mission, Values and Goals.
It is not the Declaration of Independence with the soaring rhetoric
of its author Thomas Jefferson, but it is our shared purpose, the source of our
mission, the foundation of our culture.
