Have You Lost Your "Why"?
People
do things because they want to do them, because they’re inspired to do them or
because they see that thing as part of a nobler cause. Sometimes all three.
Great leaders tap into these emotional states
to get “extraordinary results from ordinary people”. As a result, great businesses and other
organisations also inspire their people to achieve what sometimes seems impossible:
profitability in hard times, unwavering customer loyalty, fantastic products or
all or the above.
The key is “emotion”. People do things because they want to do them. You can “manipulate” people to behave in a
certain way, but in the end, it all boils down to a deeper driving force. People will behave in certain “desirable”
ways to earn more money (or to avoid losing their jobs), but this manipulation is
a very short-sighted, and short-term (and potentially expensive) strategy to
achieve one’s ends.
Banks incentivised certain employees at the
beginning of the 21st century through bonuses to increase
profits. The result: a slew of litigation
for unethical behaviour. Settlements to
customers and fines to regulators have decimated those profits. Reputations (corporate and individual) have
been destroyed.
Look at those organisations or businesses
that manage to survive despite
economic downturns (let alone increase profitability, market share or
both). What is it that they do to get
their staff to produce results and encourage staff and customer loyalty that at
times verges on “cult” loyalty?
If you look at non-profit organisations
(e.g. charities), how do they get people to contribute to them, to work for
them let alone go out on the street to raise money for whatever cause they
support? These people don’t get
bonuses. They may work in dingy, cramped
offices. Depending on the charity,
volunteers may face the threat of physical violence, disease or verbal abuse
every day that they go to work.
The reason (in the case of charities) is
that their volunteers and workers see that they’re working for a higher cause
that aligns with their values or what they hold precious in life. That sort of motivation comes from the
“heart”, not from the “head”. It’s the
emotions that are stirred by the “cause” that the organisation represents - the
reason WHY it exists.
Author Simon Sinek examines why many companies these days have lost sight
of the reason WHY they were founded. All
were started by an individual (or individuals) who wanted to make a difference. Bill Gates’ vision was to empower people
through use of PCs. Microsoft was the
result, but since he left, his vision has also gone and Microsoft are “just
another software company”. Walmart was
founded to help people and communities by selling low-priced, affordable goods. With the death of Sam Walton, it lost its
vision and has faced numerous legal actions as the very people it was founded
to support now see it as a predator.
What happens? Companies lose focus on their “Why” and start
focussing too much on “How” they do things to maintain profitability and the
“bottom line”. They cut processes or services,
which seem unnecessary, but to the customers are essential to their enjoyment
of the product or service and the reason they come in the first place. They lose their uniqueness.
Then customers start leaving, or complaints
rise, and these bright managers wonder why…
They justify their actions and decisions in terms of “How” they make
things “better” (mainly for the business).
They can’t relate to “why” customers came in the first place and “why”
the business was set up. They hire
consultants who again focus more on the “how” and the whole cycle repeats
itself.
Companies talk about “sticking to their
knitting” or their core business. What
they actually mean by this is focusing on the philosophy that drove their
founders in the first place. All Fortune
500 businesses started as the idea of one or two people who inspired others to
join them through their unique vision.
As the company grew, that vision got lost.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Leisure, Productivity, Social, Strategy, Teamwork
posted by William Martin @ 11:30
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home