Why should your people care about your business?
If you answer, "Because it's their job to care," then guess what? You're right - but that doesn't matter. Your company is already in big trouble. The Twenty-First Century is going to leave you behind.
No matter how mature and professional we are, we all seek a higher purpose through our work - or, if our work fails to provide that purpose, we seek it someplace else, and our performance suffers. Our company suffers. Our customers and stockholders suffer. Our competition thrives.
Regardless of industry, the most successful companies are those that provide a galvanizing purpose, or meaning, or cause for their entire workforce, from the C-suites down to the factory floor and the janitor's cart. This shared sense of mission makes work an adventure shared by a chosen elite - and isn't that more exciting than a routine? ...a paycheck? ...a career? ...a project? ...(yawn) a job?
Too many CEOs fail to grasp this, which is perfectly understandable - after all, when you're Number One, your work almost certainly has all sorts of intrinsic meaning: your company's success is your own success. So they put a committee to work crafting a mission statement, announce that statement at an annual meeting, and turn their attention to more "important" work, such as relating to institutional investors and industry analysts.
...Only to wonder why their job (propping up their stock price) is so exhausting and fruitless.
Your people only have a passing interest in your stock price. And no one's job ever directly impacted the little number on a ticker-tape anyway!
CEOs, stop wasting your time on the trees of your business: you've got people to handle that.Instead, spend all your time telling your people about the forest your company is creating! Do what all the most successful business leaders - all the successful leaders period - have ever done, and share your story. Make work important; make it meaningful.
Purpose! That's what gets us up in the morning. That's what makes work engaging. It's what makes long hours and difficult challenges worthwhile. Fun, even.
Yes, business is fun. At least when it's done properly. But we'll save that lesson for another day.
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Missions: How does your company compare?
Disney World: A Happy Place On Earth
Southwest Airlines: Another Way to Get There
Zappos: Powered by Online Shoe Sales
Four Seasons Hotels: We Have Beds
Shula's Steakhouse: When The Wait At Outback Gets Too Long
Walmart: Cheaper Than Most
GE: Another Big Company Whose Executives Are Well-Paid
Ben & Jerry's: Made With Sugar and Cream
(This is fun. I invite you to add to this list yourself in the comments section.)
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This is part 5 of my 5-part series introducing the new iteration of this blog. I'm just warming up, though. Winning at business in the 21st Century won't be covered in five posts, or in fifty. I hope you like what you've read so far and come back for more!
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