I love this article by Verne Harnish. When re-reading it, I’m struck by notion that the most important task that great leaders carry is the ability is to embody, personify, and evangelize the mission, vision and values. Leaders of social enterprises and nonprofits have been doing always done focused on “mission-first” – many times to a fault. Keeping the organization focused on the higher mission can be difficult in the for-profit world because of the constant pressure to make the quarterly numbers. This pressure tends to push out the most important long-term growth mechanism which is ensuring that the company’s greatest asset (it’s people) is aligned, engaged, and energized around the mission.
ARTICLE SUMMARY
Once you have your core values, it’s the “repeating” of and living “consistent” with the firm’s values that’s the most difficult part of the process. A leader must go beyond merely posting the values on the wall and handing out plastic laminated cards. Here are eight ways to keep these values alive and simplify your people systems.
- STORYTELLING
- RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
- ORIENTATION
- PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND HANDBOOKS
- RECOGNITION AND REWARDS
- NEWSLETTERS
- THEMES
- EVERYDAY MANAGEMENT
Kurt Schusterman 