The 2 words you need to train your staff NEVER to say.
If you employ staff, why do you? I am not referring to legal semantics here, like are they employed or are the subcontractors etc. What I am asking here is: are you employing staff just to lay your hands on, well, more hands? Or in the ideal world, should these people be contributing to the overall improvement of the business?
No judgement here, either scenario could work for you. If you just want more available hands then the path to success is to ensure that your employees are engaged, happy, have the tools available and you need to manage them well by continually refocusing on the objective of the task.
If, however you want more than just additional hands (ps. most business should be selecting this option), then you need more than what I have highlighted above.

Purpose is the most misunderstood concept in business.

All these statements are like peas in a pod: Your Purpose, Mission or Why statement. We all know about them, and if you have exposed yourself to any business training, then this is 101 stuff. In fact, in terms of YouTube business type videos, Simon Sinek’s “How leaders inspire action” would rate amongst the most viewed business-related video ever. Simon’s talk is about tapping into the ‘Why’ question.
Of the many such statements I have come across, the overwhelming majority focus on explaining what the company does at a ‘practical level.’ These statements result in little to no benefit to the company at all. They go something along the lines of “ABC purpose is to serve our country with great toilet rolls.”.
We all know that that just ain’t right.😊

An effective Purpose statement is one that strikes an emotional chord. If effective, it evokes a reaction, a feeling, a response. For many companies, their purpose will often stem from a personal belief or ‘cause’ stemming directly from the founder. Their energy and personality will be expressed in the Purpose Statement. 

And I hear the cynics muttering: ‘how can a bunch of words achieve this?’ Well, to be honest, only occasionally is this achieved. But most times it is experienced through the actions of the founder and the company overall. The collective behaviour of everyone in the company is, after all, the company.  

The message here is subtle but critical. Don’t get too hung up on second-guessing your Purpose statement. It needs to be right, and it needs to say exactly what it is, but what is even more important is how it is demonstrated. 

Nail your purpose statement, demonstrate it through the daily actions of everyone in the business and your payoff will include: 

  • A closer alignment between you and your ideal customer type 
  • More engaged, committed staff 
  • Better recruitment success as you will be able to ensure that candidates are naturally aligned and energized by the Purpose of the business. 

How To Create Yours: 

In my strategy programme, I specifically address how to go about creating yours, but after doing many I have found that the ultimate statement develops through iterations. In fact, I feel a little uncomfortable instructing people how to develop theirs, unless we can collectively work through these iterations.  

If you would like some input and assistance with identifying your Purpose statement, a must-have for all business then please book a complimentary session with me here, alternatively, if you would like a complimentary ‘how-to’ guide, then click here.