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Imagine that your company has grown so successfully that operations are departmentalized.  It might look like this: Finance & Administration, R&D, Sales, Marketing, Public Relations, etc.  Now even if you are a OMB (one man band) or OWB (one woman band) as the case may be and you are doing all of the work, most of the business functions still need to be done…it is only a matter of scale.  With that in mind you can set intentions for everything you do and let your intentions guide you where you want to go. 

Vision and mission statements can drive a company's strategic direction but are often just postings on the wall that fly above day to day operations.   Vision and mission are enlivened by assigning your intention for every functional work area of your business that is complementary to the overall company vision and mission.  For example, what is your marketing and sales intention?  Is it to corner a new market or capture 10% of an existing one?  Do you intend annual sales of ten thousand or one million dollars?  In the area of product development is it your intention to provide the highest quality product on the market or one with the least cost to customers?  Setting your intentions for every segment of your business creates a compass and a measuring stick to set the direction for and inspire the activity of each strategic work area.  By fulfilling specific intentions throughout your business operations you guarantee realization of your company’s vision and mission. 

Get Started, How to Create and Market Service Based Business During a Down Economy is an E3A telecourse that goes more deeply into this subject.   Join PJ Stegen and Kim Shook, certified E3A trainers, on Wednesday, September 28 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) or Sunday, October 23 at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time) for a free introduction to hear what this twelve session telecourse offers.  Sign up at www.E3Assoc.org.

The vision, mission and values statements that you create for your business are the inspiration and the map that set the strategic direction for your organization and lay the foundational measurements for a strategic plan.  The vision statement contains your highest aspirations for attainment, your motivation for being in business, your core business philosophy and the organization’s ultimate vision for the future.  It expresses the core essence of the organization, your long range vision for what the organization is when its ultimate potential is realized.  For example, Flip Flop Ranch’s vision statement is “(we are) an educational ranch dedicated to building relationships”.

While the vision statement is the ultimate "who" of your organization, the mission statement is the "what" of the organization.  Your mission statement identifies your target audience, how you will serve them, and the business purpose and primary goals you seek to achieve on the way to accomplishing your ultimate vision.  Flying High Farm’s stated mission is: “(we) incorporate the therapeutic power of ponies towards optimizing the behavioral, emotional and social growth of our youth”. 

Your value statements express your organizational culture and “how” you do business.  They are the essential qualities of who you and your organization are being and how they are performing activities.  Sound value statements set the tone for finding clients and doing business and enhance your ability to fulfill your vision and mission within an identified code of ethics.  Aspen Ranch has established the following values for its operation: “In all decisions and actions – including our interactions with students, family members, co-workers and professional colleagues – we are guided by our core values of Respect, Responsibility, Relationships, and Integrity”.

Get Started, How to Create and Market Service Based Business During a Down Economy is an E3A telecourse that goes more deeply into this subject.   Join PJ Stegen and Kim Shook, certified E3A trainers, on Wednesday, September 28 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) or Sunday, October 23 at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time) for a free introduction to hear what this twelve session telecourse offers.  Sign up at www.E3Assoc.org.

Starting a business is an exciting venture.  It’s easy to get caught up in deciding what your logo looks like, finding the perfect business name, coming up with an inspiring vision and mission, and getting your office set up.  While those pursuits are important and probably more fun than mapping out the action plan for business operations, deciding the right business type that will work for you given your business and entrepreneurial style should come first.  Are you flying solo or working with a partner or group?  Is this to be afor profit business or is it to be a community service type non-profit?  What personal liability could you encounter in conducting your business?  These are a few of the questions that you should consider as you set up your operation. 

The five basic business forms are the Sole Proprietorship, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, for profit Corporations and Non-Profit Corporations, each form having advantages and disadvantages.  In a sole proprietorship you call the shots as the sole owner and as a result bear liability for all debt.  Partnerships combine individual strengths and talents, spread the work load, share liabilities and provide feedback, but they are more complicated and require working out an operating/partnership agreement.  Limited liability companies are structured to limit personal liability, but require more paperwork and costs.  Corporations enjoy certain tax advantages not available to individuals but have a more complex operating and regulatory structures.  Non-profit corporations are generally exempt from income taxes but often experience funding difficulty. 

Get Started, How to Create and Market Service Based Business During a Down Economy is an E3A telecourse that goes more deeply into this subject.   Join PJ Stegen and Kim Shook, certified E3A trainers, on Wednesday, September 28 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) or Sunday, October 23 at 1:00 PM (Pacific Time) for a free introduction to hear what this twelve session telecourse offers.  Sign up at www.E3Assoc.org.

The book Tribal Leadership lays out a four stage model to assess organizational culture along with their 5 minute assessment tool (as well as an Executive assessment tool).

Assessment tools are always great additions to an E3 team building or leadership development program.

Learn more about Tribal Leadership at: http://www.triballeadership.net/

Get the free audio book from Zappos (their founder is the author of Deliverying Happiness):  http://www.zappos.com/tribal.zhtml

E3A offers a teleclass and a 2-day training program with horses for you to explore your strengths, the strengths based philosophy, and utilize the StrengthsFinder assessment tool in your E3 programs. Join us to see your own strengths in action and learn how to facilitate strengths-based team development programs with horses to aid in facilitating with a positive focus and enable a shift in team culture.

Here is an overview from Gallop about using strengths to accelerate performance within an organization:  http://www.gallup.com/consulting/61/Strengths-Development.aspx

Gallup research shows that strengths development interventions can produce increases in employee engagement that in turn lead to improved business outcomes in areas including retention, productivity, profitability, and customer retention

Whether you do or ou don't, this Inc. article provides insight into what makes an entrepreneur tick, providing great perspectives for the next time you facilitate an entrepreneur during an E3 program.  Extend the information to StrengthsFinder and what it means for an entrepreneurial culture that permeates an organization:  http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110201/how-great-entrepreneurs-think.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=button&usrid=undefined

I am Larry Bramblett, one of the founding members of E3A. I bring a lifelong love of horses and a thirty year career in education. I have been a teacher, principal and superintendent. During those years horses were my recreation, refuge and teacher. I have helped develop the curriculum and training specifically designed for teachers with a focus on providing inspired results for the participants. As teachers, we hope you will help us through your comments to build an even better program.

I’ve always been suspicious of certification courses leading….nowhere. It seems that many of the current certifications in the equine experiential field consist of level after level of course work providing beautifully scripted diplomas suitable for framing and placed neatly below the picture of your favorite horse. I’ve always been more interested in how I could put a certification to work, that is, if I found the content compelling for myself, how could I share my learning with my students and peers?

E3A is an organization that provides training to the corporate, educational, coaching and personal development fields using the horse as teacher. The education certification track specifically targets educators and special education teachers who are interested in providing workshops for their peers, and those seeking innovative curricular content that motivates students and alternative methods to successful classroom management. Certified E3A candidates are provided with an organizational plan and practicum that will enable them to promote this training in their classrooms, schools and districts as an addition to current staff development and continuing education programs.

The E3A Educational Certification is rigorous and rewarding. Horse experience is welcomed but not required. Non- ‘horse people’, will help you to connect with local equine operations fully equipped to help you succeed.
The goal of E3A, through the mirror of horses, is to inspire you, not just for a day or a week or a year. E3A can help you become an inspirational leader both in your classroom and in the field of equine experiential education.
We welcome your advice, comments and suggestions. Check our "Upcoming Schedule" to sign up for our next teleclass about the E3A Education Certification Program or contact us for more information.