When the idea of NextLevel Thinking was hatched in 2001, it became evident early on that we needed a mission statement to help define what NLT was and how it would propel its clients to the next level.

If you look at my LinkedIn profile you will see I was the Chief Strategic Officer at a firm called Brand Imagination from October 1996 to December 2000. At Brand Imagination, we had collectively worked on a mission statement that I loved. Brand Imagination was purchased by Grizzard Communications and the mission statement was no longer being used, so we decided to borrow Partnering with Clients to Achieve Market Potential.

This phrase helped us understand that the partnering / collaborative nature of our approach and service offerings was always going to be very important to us and serve as a cornerstone of our business each and every day. Ultimately, if we helped our clients achieve their market potential, we had a great shot at achieving ours.

Over the years, as our business evolved and our team of superstars was doing more and more for our clients, there was a feeling that our mission statement needed to evolve. First, our unique market-driven methodology provides the information for us to challenge our clients in a very healthy way to discover who they are. Second, we believe the emotional reasons that organizations do business with our clients are often overlooked but are a critical component of understanding what business they are actually in. And finally, once our clients comprehend who they are and appreciate what business they are actually in from an emotional perspective, they should be able to boldly express their reason for being.

As a result, Challenging Organizations to Discover Who They Are, Understand What Business They Are Actually In, and Confidently Articulate Their Why was born!