{"id":43267,"date":"2018-10-30T04:45:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T09:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=43267"},"modified":"2018-10-30T04:45:26","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T09:45:26","slug":"spell-out-the-organizations-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/spell-out-the-organizations-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Spell out the Organization’s Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to achieve your quarterly sales quotas, slash expenses, or reach some other important benchmark, it\u2019s import to remember your why\u2014why you started your company, why you spent long days and longer nights helping it grow, and why achieving greater impact is critical.<\/p>\n

But unlike personal goals that are often chased in isolation, business is a team sport. And if you want to win as a team, you need to communicate your organization\u2019s purpose so that your team members can make it part of their why.<\/p>\n

Get specific about your mission<\/h3>\n

Few things ruin a team\u2019s focus more than generic objectives (increasing website traffic or launching new products, for example) that aren\u2019t directly connected to the company\u2019s mission. According to Joel Schwartzberg<\/a>, a communications expert and public speaking trainer, using abstract goals to share an organization\u2019s purpose is a mistake that makes fulfilling the true mission much more difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether your company makes the world a safer place or makes a profit from selling soft drinks, always end your point with the highest value proposition,\u201d Schwartzberg says. \u201cAlways ask \u2018Why is that important?\u2019 until you reach the ultimate goal, then make that your point.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach transforms a desire of \u201copening more stores\u201d to \u201cbecoming the market leader and saving more lives.\u201d The first is little more than an abstract goal, while the latter is clearly more purpose-driven.<\/p>\n

Yet even after determining the highest value proposition, specificity is still important when determining how to communicate it. And, adds Schwartzberg, \u201cbadjectives\u201d should be avoided at all costs.<\/p>\n

“\u2019Badjectives\u2019 are adjectives that are so broad and overused that they mean virtually nothing\u2014words like \u2018great,\u2019 \u2018very good,\u2019 \u2018awesome,\u2019 \u2018interesting,' and even \u2018important,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWhat's \u2018important\u2019 to one person might be irrelevant to someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of using those words, Schwartzberg recommends asking why an approach or goal is \u201cvery good\u201d or \u201cgreat.\u201d The answer, he says, will bring you back to your organization\u2019s highest value proposition and true purpose in the most concise way possible.<\/p>\n

Tell a story<\/h3>\n

Jesus taught in parables for a reason: Wrapping important messages in the context of a well-told story makes them easier to understand, easier to remember, and easier to act upon.<\/p>\n

Vlad Giverts<\/a> has co-founded three companies and been one of the first employees or executives at five others. He now coaches business leaders and finds that a lack of storytelling often prevents deep buy-in from team members.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany companies have inspirational purpose statements like \u2018Reinventing Finance\u2019 or \u2018Revolutionizing Education,\u2019 but no one knows what they really mean,\u201d says Giverts. \u201cThese statements are often obvious to the founders, and they can't imagine how their team members, who they see and talk to every week, don't just \u2018get it.\u2019 But they usually don't.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help turn an organization\u2019s purpose with a story, Giverts recommends answering the following questions:<\/p>\n

\u25cf Who is the protagonist?
\n\u25cf What is their struggle?
\n\u25cf How will the company make a meaningful difference in these people's lives and, thus, make the world a better place?<\/p>\n

Responses to these questions provide clarity and, when incorporated, can turn a generic statement like:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe'll make it more convenient for people to get groceries!\u201d<\/p>\n

Into:<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of professionals are working long hours to succeed at their jobs. They're struggling to keep up with chores with the few hours they have left. What if we could free up some of their time to live their lives, instead of dealing with chores?\u201d<\/p>\n

Statements like these are much more effective in connecting team members to the organization\u2019s why and uniting everyone with an objective that\u2019s both shared and compelling.<\/p>\n

Stay positive<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not just enough to communicate an organization\u2019s purpose if team members don\u2019t believe that it can actually be fulfilled. There are challenges inherent to running an organization and leading teams\u2014and the larger the vision and intended impact, the more those challenges compound.<\/p>\n

According to Earl Choate, CEO of Concrete Camouflage<\/a>, the antidote to team frustration and apathy is for the leaders tasked with this communication to simply stay positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cManagers are limited in the amount of work they can accomplish individually, and there is only so much a person can get done in a given day or week,\u201d he explains. \u201cHowever, their attitude can have a tremendous impact on the work done by other people in the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the leader of an e-commerce company that designs and sells its own proprietary concrete staining supplies, Choate implements this simple strategy on a daily basis. He also notes how effective positivity is as a motivator and driver of purposeful action.<\/p>\n

\u201cA positive outlook is so important from a leader because it wears off onto the rest of the team,\u201d Choate says. \u201cIt helps create a culture that inspires risk taking and personal initiative from team members.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want to achieve your quarterly sales quotas, slash expenses, or reach some other important benchmark, it\u2019s import to remember your why\u2014why you started your company, why you spent long days and longer nights helping it grow, and why achieving greater impact is critical. But unlike personal goals that are often chased in isolation, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":43300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSpell out the Organization's Purpose | Full Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fullfocusplanner.com\/spell-out-the-organizations-purpose\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spell out the Organization's Purpose | Full Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you want to achieve your quarterly sales quotas, slash expenses, or reach some other important benchmark, it\u2019s import to remember your why\u2014why you started your company, why you spent long days and longer nights helping it grow, and why achieving greater impact is critical. 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