Finding your common purpose

Matrix Key: Relationships - Staff and Colleagues -

Common Interest

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” - Patrick Lencioni

Back in the day when I owned a sheet metal fabrication shop, I received a cold call from a business coach.  The woman at the other end of the phone asked "How would you like your employees to operate as a high performance team?"  My response was "Team? I would just like them to work together and to stop wanting to claw each other's eyes out!"  And so began my journey of transformation and coaching.  

One of the most important elements of balance and stability at work is to share common interests with your colleagues.  You do not all need to be friends, but is is critical that all employees be in agreement on several key elements.

In the WholeLife Matrix we define those elements as:

1. Vision and Mission
2. Projects
3. Workability
4. Meeting Deadlines

Consider for a moment an orchestra, and the many subtle and not so subtle refinements required to produce the sound that lifts and carries the audience.  The musicians need the same musical score; they must play in the same key and at the same tempo; each individual instrument must be in tune; every musician has to be committed to the performance from beginning to end; and everyone needs to pay attention to the conductor.  If any one of these factors is out of place or missing, it is obvious to the listener that something is wrong.

Likewise, for a group of colleagues to work together effectively, they need to share the same vision (purpose and values) and mission (mechanism for success).  Once these two items are in place, it is much easier for the group to align on the chosen project, work together in an effective manner, and agree to meet common deadlines.  Aligning on a common interest results with everyone being on the right bus in the right seat headed to that same destination.


Are you ready to win?

On the Mountaintop

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” – Jack Welch

Our past few blogs have centered on the concept of specific and measurable intentions for your business. From creating them to using them, to keeping them alive, delivering on intentions is hard but worthwhile work. It’s always possible to have big dreams come true, but when the goal seems very far away, it’s sometimes challenging to take those first steps toward it. We can be afraid that it’s just too big for us, or that that we are not deserving, or that there’s no way we have the knowledge, skills or resources to deliver.

If you have done the work of creating your intentions and scheduling actions into your calendar to paint a picture of your path, you are well on your way to getting there. But how do you develop the confidence to get off the dime and get moving?

We ask all our clients to go through an exercise that puts the client into the picture of the finished intention. Here’s how it works:

First, write a letter to yourself or to your coach, as if you are standing in the future, having delivered on your dream. You are on the mountaintop, looking back over the climb. You did it! You made that million dollars, or opened that new location, or took that dream vacation with your family.

Standing in the place of “it’s done”, write down everything that must have happened to get you there. It’s important to note there are no wrong answers. Don’t over-think the exercise, and don’t grade yourself on composition and grammar! Just brainstorm everything that had to happen.

For instance, if your intention was to generate $1mm in revenue – what would you need to make that happen? A new salesperson? Two new computers? Twenty more hours a week in sales? A different supplier or five new product offerings?

This is a place to be creative. Even if you have no idea how you will obtain or learn how to make those things appear, write down what you think must have happened. You’ll soon see the bigger possibilities for taking your company to that next level.

Wanting to make $1mm is a very different thing from being intentional about making it happen. It takes vision, combined with a specific game plan and a very diligent existence system to have it all come true.

From your letter, develop a list of actions that will unquestionably deliver the result you’re looking for. The key is what will unquestionably deliver the result. When you review your list, ask yourself this…if I did everything on this list, what is the probability that I will achieve my intention? 60%? 75%? 95%? If the actions on your list do not yield at least a 95% probability of success, then add more tasks to the list.

Last week we talked about keeping your intentions in existence. This list is an important part of your existence system. We’ll talk more in future blogs about how to use your letter and your list. For now, we want you to imagine yourself at the finish line, having won the game. Because being able to see the possibilities of new future give you the power to make it a reality.

Are you ready to win?