Clarify The What And The Why

There’s many roles a leader must play. These roles can be dizzying.

Leaders must support their team. Leaders must bring unity to the organization. Leaders must cast a clear vision.

Your vision is all about the what.

It’s telling where you’re going. How you’re going to get there. And how you know you’ve arrived.

But how clear have you been in sharing the vision?

Get Clear On The What

You’ll see organizations through up a company vision. Usually, this vision is very generic.

You might see vision statements such as:

Help customers get their work done

To build high quality products people love

We will share the Gospel with all we meet

Those vision statements don’t do anything for me. They are blah. They are far too broad. They fail to speak to you.

Meanwhile, other companies are specific and direct with their mission statement. Microsoft wants this:

There will be a personal computer on every desk running Microsoft software.

Or Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio:

We are the “living letters” God uses to communicate his love to our city

And charity:water:

We’re a nonprofit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

With Microsoft, Crossroads Community Church, and charity:water; their mission is clear. Microsoft wants a computer with their operating system on each desktop around the world. Crossroads Community Church wants people to live out lives that display God’s love to those they meet. Charity:water wants to bring clean, safe water to people in countries that don’t currently have it.

These company statements are clear. They’re concise. And they energize people to be a part of what they’re doing.

This is why you want to be clear. The more clear you are, the more you’ll get people on board with your mission.

Don’t Forget The WHY

Being clear is only the beginning of getting your vision statement out there. You can’t forget the WHY.

Simon Sinek is best known for his book Start With Why. And it’s where you need to focus.

People love to know what you’re doing. But people LONG for WHY you’re doing what you’re doing.

Share about your story. Tell your followers why you’re involved with your business.

Weave a tale (its gotta be true) that will grab people’s attention.

Tom’s Shoes has done this well. Blake Mycoskie had the vision to help provide shoes for children who couldn’t afford them.

He saw a way by selling shoes to the average American consumer, with a twist. When someone would purchase a pair of shoes (the what), Tom’s Shoes would provide a pair of shoes for free to a child overseas (the WHY).

Thus, Tom’s Shoes is born and a new style of business suddenly began popping up all over the place.

By showing people your what and why, you engage them to become a part of your organization. Are you doing that?

Question: How’s your what and why being presented to your organization and those they serve? Let’s talk about this in the comment section below.

 

 

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