The same strategies that guide the most successful companies in the world can be applied to your personal finances. Learn to leverage the power of these time-tested principles to build greater wealth with this three-part series.

Introduction to the Fortune 500 Framework

Great companies don’t achieve peak levels of performance by some twist of fate. Instead, they implement comprehensive systems and strategies that turn success into a baseline expectation, not a surprising result.

They create an interconnected web of corporate mission statements, employee procedures, hiring guidelines, and codes of conduct that align with a deeper purpose or vision.

Then, these organizations track progress relentlessly. They establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), board meetings, and annual reviews to foster accountability and high performance.

None of these concepts are earth-shattering. They’ve been documented ad nauseam across countless Harvard Business Cases, MBA group projects, and best-selling organizational literature. These strategies and tactics work.

Bringing the Fortune 500 Framework to Your Personal Finances

Here’s what is shocking: none of us bother to apply these proven concepts to our own financial lives. I’m guilty of this same oversight.

In my career, I’ve had the privilege of working for two well-oiled corporate machines. One’s a private company. The other is a large publicly-traded corporation. Despite radically different cultures and guiding principles, they both enjoy tremendous success.

The common thread? Each firm has established robust corporate systems, allowing them to rally around a singular mission, make optimal decisions, and enjoy increased success (however they choose to define it).

This three-part Fortune 500 series aims to bridge the disconnect between high-performing companies and individuals. I’ll identify the best-in-class corporate tactics and ideas that I’ve seen implemented by brilliant business leaders. Then, I’ll extend them into the realm of personal finance.

The goal? Help you run your finances like a Fortune 500 CEO / CFO. Even if your bank account doesn’t reflect C-suite status quite yet.

Mission Statements

In the Corporate World

A corporate mission statement functions like an organization’s lighthouse, guiding everyone from top executives to rank and file employees through rough waters and trying moments.

It’s a timeless document. The company should feel confident embracing these ideals regardless of external influences or internal growth.

The statement encapsulates a company’s deeper purpose, ambitions, and reason for existence in a concise manner. Often, it’s a single sentence.

Here are a few notable examples from this inspiring list:

Warby Parker

To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

Patagonia

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Universal Health Services, Inc.

To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.

Tesla

To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Why Mission Statements Matter in a Corporate Context

The mission statement guides executives through their most complex decisions. For example: new product launches, M&A activity, lawsuits, ethical dilemmas, etc.

But it holds equal influence over smaller, more routine actions. Think: employee evaluations, office organization, cafeteria menus, interview style, etc.

Thus, the mission statement is equal parts aspirational and practical. A well-integrated organization considers alignment with its corporate mission statement throughout every move it makes.

Now, I know this all sounds ridiculously cheesy. I spent multiple college semesters half-tuning out professors proclaiming the importance of strategic alignment with a corporate mission.

However, I’ve now observed the power of a compelling corporate mission statement firsthand. It’s crucial in business and (believe it or not) in your personal finances. Stick with me.

In Your Personal Finances

Step 1 in running your finances like a CEO: crafting your “personal finance statement.”

Like the corporate mission statement, it should distill your grandest dreams and ambitions into a digestible, concise format for easy reference. And no pressure, but this thing must stand the test of time. Make it broad and ambitious enough that it won’t require constant revision with each major life event that you experience.

The exercise will challenge you to establish a deep-seated “why” surrounding your personal finances. What burning desire lies deep inside of you, lighting your fire to achieve greater wealth or financial independence? This motivating force should beam with internal importance and captivate your imagination.

Once you capture this underlying vision, memorialize it by writing your personal finance statement. Then, watch your progression towards the creation of bulletproof wealth accelerate dramatically.

Why Mission Statements Matter in Your Personal Finances

Documenting your guiding principles on paper builds a stronger sense of accountability, facilitates resilience in response to money mistakes, and creates a subtle sense of urgency.

For bonus points, publicly share your personal finance statement with a friend, spouse, or family member. This creates even greater momentum and adds a layer of social pressure.

Recognize, social influence can either fuel your vices or your virtues. The public unveiling of a personal finance statement helps to channel this social energy towards the latter option.

Prioritize Depth in your Personal Finance Statement

To maximize the impact of the personal finance statement, I encourage you to dig deep. Don’t float around first or second level aspirations. Rather, dig into the third, fourth and fifth order layers of your ambitions. This is not a 15-minute exercise.

It’s easiest to illustrate this concept by starting with what NOT to do. Check out a few personal finance statements that don’t go nearly deep enough:

  • To get as rich as possible so that I can travel anywhere in the world.
  • To save a lot of money because I was poor growing up.
  • Make great investments that allow me to retire before my friends.

Sure, these points may all make up a piece of the larger force that drives you. But they don’t capture the root desire that will fuel you to overcome life’s greatest challenges. The wants expressed above are surface level manifestations of those deeper forces.

Diving into the Deep End of Your Personal Finances

Now, let’s take the superficial personal finance statements from above, and transform them into the sort of personal finance statement that could radically transform your life. Notice that in addition to drilling deeper, these statements grow more specific. This makes the “deepest” statements feel more tangible as well.

I hope this thought-exercise gets you juices flowing and helps you apply the same process to your own financial journey.

Key Takeaways on Fortune 500 Personal Finances (Part 1)

Part One in this series introduced the concept of applying best-in-class corporate practices to your own personal finances. We discussed the importance of a concise, overarching corporate mission statement. Then, demonstrated how to translate the same idea into a personal finance statement.

An effective personal finance statement inspires commitment and an awareness of your money mindset. It draws upon a deep-seated, burning desire within to power you through life’s toughest financial moments. It’s abstract, but it informs routine actions.

Part Two will discuss how to effectively convert this overarching mission statement into everyday behavior. In the working world, this process takes the form of employee handbooks and corporate codes of conduct. We’ll cherry-pick the most powerful aspects of these tools, and apply them to your financial life.

Stay tuned!