I sat through a meeting that went nowhere this week.
Everyone on the management team claimed they were there to
identify changes that would improve business profitability
and individual productivity. No one could agree on the
steps that needed to be taken.
I was asked to come observe because the team was making no
headway and had been stalled for months, going around in
the same circles. Because of a simple fundamental breakdown
they spent much of the meeting arguing- there was no
agreement on the business model... and there was no
agreement because the business's Vision was a tangled mess.
How did this happen? This is a business, so how could it
possibly be operating without a clear inspiring Vision?
Poorly!
In businesses, whether solo, small firm or large
corporation, the lack of a Vision results in continuously
wasted resources. I bet you've experience these at some
point: great ideas mixed in with bad ones, lots of busy
work and duplication and people marking time commingled
with focused efforts.
People dream of doing great work!
They're hungry for someone to give them a clear direction
with a Vision they can sink their teeth into. You can't
make a loaf of bread anyone wants to eat if there's chaff
in it... What do I mean by "chaff?" At some point in the
past 10 years I expect you saw a television show or cable
program from a developing country that showed a woman ankle
deep in grain. With a light breeze blowing from behind her
she was systematically scooping up the grain and tossing it
into the air.
Toss the grain in the air and the breeze blows the outer
inedible shell, the chaff, to the side while the weight of
the edible core drops it to the ground. Presto! The makings
of a great pita, or loaf of bread, or strip of pasta. In
developed countries, large machinery does the same thing.
Millions of tons of grain taken from a confused mass of
unfiltered wheat to immediately usable product in a simple,
systematic way.
You'd think that if people had been doing this for
centuries, actually for millennia, that we'd all know how
to apply the principle to other areas of life.
In fact, we don't. Just as that woman sifting the wheat had
to learn how to do that, the same holds true in creating
productive, profitable business efforts. And the starting
point is the same for mega corporations, family owned
businesses, professional service firms, or technology
start-ups.
You can't get people to step up and produce effective
results if your Vision is a mess!
I've seen Vision statements that were 150 words long on
plaques on the wall, listened to business leaders drone on
from the podium as listeners eyes glassed over, and had
CEO's tell me their company was in business, because it was
in business.
Don't get me wrong. The business doors are open, products
and services are being delivered and money is changing
hands. But the employees aren't motivated to do their best
work, management is arguing about whether sales or
accounting set the business direction, and customers can
pick and choose who they want to buy from this month.
Nothing compelling is at the helm - no idea that stirs the
staff's juices, no product or service that keeps customers
loyal, and no touchstone that reminds people wearing
different business hats of the reason they're in a meeting
to solve conflicts and make decisions.
Companies come into existence because at one point in time
there was a customer for a specific solution, and someone
decided to do 'whatever it took' to provide that solution.
And that motivation was a clear compelling Vision.
FedEx established a Vision that packages would be delivered
"absolutely, positively, overnight" and that animated every
activity in the company. Your success demands that you have
a Vision everyone stands for in your organization.
So I'll be working with that client to get a compelling
straightforward Vision that ties their efforts together.
And it's now your turn!
Get the chaff out and create a Vision that aligns and
inspires the efforts of your business! Ask yourself and
your team
"What is the underlying Vision for this organization?"
If you don't hear that people have a clear understanding of
the purpose for the business, you cannot clearly define the
what success will look like for their roles and
responsibilities. Your first order of business is
communicating that Vision clearly.
----------------------------------------------------
© 2008 Linda Feinholz Management expert, consultant,
and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High Payoff Catalyst" If
you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, boost
your professional and personal results and have more fun,
get her FREE audio mini-course "7 Quick & Simple Steps to
Increase Your Focus, Ease Your Effort & Accelerate Your
Results" and the free weekly newsletter The Spark! Visit
http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com
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