Welcome to IGW Insights Issue 4!
In our last issue, we explored mission as a focusing tool to drive investment and sacrifice from our teammates. Today, I want to reflect on why it’s also central to driving alignment.
Can you imagine standing before your team at the annual offsite, shouting the rallying cry, “Execution! Accountability!”
“Process compliance! Higher performance!”
You’re more likely to induce paranoia and fear than what you really want: investment and sacrifice.
Clarity of mission–combined with belief in the mission–is what gets people excited about getting up in the morning. About sacrificing their time for the worthy aim, which is that gift you give to your customers, clients, end-users–the people who need what you create.
Clarity of mission also drives alignment. My favorite definition of alignment in the dictionary is, “the route or course of a road or railroad.” If you get alignment right, then everybody in your organization rides the same train. So how do we make this happen? Read the full article on my blog.
Recommended Reading and Listening
People who know me well know that I am, oh, somewhat obsessed with Lego–the toy and the company. It is the greatest toy ever invented. In the history of human civilization. Is that an extreme position, or is it just true? Why am I typing this and not building Lego right now? Because my priorities are utterly backward.
Anyway, read The Lego Story by Jens Anderson. You don’t have to be a fan of Lego to derive lots of value from this book. It will resonate with any business owner. One quote just from the preface: “LEGO is much more than a dizzying number of plastic bricks that can be put together and combined in countless ways. LEGO is also a vision of the significance of what play can mean for humanity.”
Gift. Mission. Sacrifice. Alignment. Enjoy the read.
Journaling Exercise
Speaking of mission, here are two journaling prompts for you today:
- When we deliver our product or service at the highest level, who will benefit most?
- What happens when we drop the ball? What are the consequences?
If you’re feelin’ frisky, scan your journal pages and email them to me, and I’ll scan/send you mine. That’s right folks, I ride my own tricycle.
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Onward and upward,
Dan Weiss, CEO
