An authentic and slightly irreverent blog on the applied dimensions of leadership & change...

• My Crap

• Your Crap

• Our Crap

• Everybody’s Crap.

Does every individual in your organization know the number one thing that sets you apart from other organizations like yours? Not many organizations can make this claim but some truly can. What’s the big deal? Laser focus on the key value your customers want that you deliver in a way no other can means all efforts are trained on that outcome—all resources, processes, procedures, policies, and personnel contribute to that end. Employees know what, how, and why their daily tasks matter. They work harder and better together with a singular focus and a purpose that matters.

I’ve been helping organizations develop such singular strategies for 30 years and it is not easy to get leadership and organizations on board. But take note: while the rank and file employees are dying for such clarity and meaning, your customers want to know why they should choose you as well. Why the disconnect between the people and the organization? What gets in the way? Peoples’ crap!

Let’s break it down…

We’re afraid (as leaders/organizations) that committing to just one thing will be too risky so we hedge our bets. The result is muddy water where no one can clearly see where you are going, what sets you apart from your direct and indirect competitors, and why anyone should care.

The good news is that your core strength and differentiation encompasses all the other good stuff you do, it just focuses it in a memorable, meaningful, and useful way.

Others with whom you interact can only reliably focus on (remember) one thing. It is how God made us! So always refer back to that one focal strength—your strategy—and overtly make the connection for each task, objective, goal you assign.

Since organizations are just groups of people trying to get something done, you can essentially multiply my crap x your crap2 to get our collective organizational crap-factor. There’s a lot of it. But I don’t have to tell you!

We each extend our areas of responsibility to include our own interpretations of what we think we should be doing and how we should be doing it. This is our natural creativity, self-expression, and desire to take all of our capabilities out for a spin. Organizations with a clear and singular strategy can harness these abilities, empowering their employees to apply them with this strategy as their ultimate guide for delivering the key value that sets your organization apart from the others. If you are leveraging the strategy, you are on track and free to do your thing. If not…you’re not. Organizations with a singular strategy are the competitive powerhouses. They get more out of their employees, their resources, and their customers. Those who think they are hedging their bets by avoiding a singular strategy are discovering that more is less, for nobody can reliably retain, recite, and reach others with multiple strategies. (Just “ask” Sun Tzu!) Cut the crap, we aren’t wired that way.

We, as individuals as well as organizations, don’t live in isolation anymore. We are operating in the fishbowl of technology which connects us directly to our local and global communities. And guess what? These communities care how organizations impact them more than ever before. Customers, employees, shareholders, and neighbors are all talking with each other about us. How awesome it is when they can say the same good things about our organization and spread the news!

© 2019 Stacie L L Morgan. All rights reserved.