Harnessing Change to Develop Talent and Beat the Competition by Spina James D.;Spina Lori J.;

Author:Spina, James D.;Spina, Lori J.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Published: 2019-09-25T00:00:00+00:00

A high-quality mission statement should be concise enough to fit on the back of a business card. If we want employees to understand the mission, and put it into action, they need to remember it. A long statement will not work.

We recall reading the mission statement document for a large state university where its business school was rated in the top 25 schools in the nation. It was 11 pages long and concluded with a statement concerning the university's potential impact on world peace! It was no wonder that it rested with comfort in the bottom drawer of most file cabinets.

The process of building a clear mission statement should be launched by top management and be consistent with cultural values of the organization. Such a start will give credibility to the effort and avoid the “flavor of the month” trap suffered by many such programs. The next step is to gather “buy-in” to the process by line and staff. Yes, it means letting the sailors help run the ship and not simply follow a captain's orders.

There's a simple method for starting to build “buy-in” with employees that involves telling a story and then asking the audience to chime in with personal conclusions concerning their jobs. Before telling the story, ask the employees to write a short answer describing what they do at work. Tell them it will not be collected but will be used after hearing a short story. Give them 5–10 minutes to complete the assignment on a 3 × 5 card and then relate the following story:

Method #15 The Bricks of Boston – “A scenario that illustrates the degree of understanding by staff of the organization's strategy and vision.”

A visitor to Boston's South End came upon a construction site where a large building was slowly rising skyward. There were three masons working nearly side by side. He watched them handle the bricks with great skill and speed. Approaching the first man, he asked him what he was doing. The man gave him a strange look and said, “I'm laying brick, what does it look like I'm doing?”

The visitor thanked him for his reply and spoke to the next mason. He asked him the same question. The man looked up and said, “I'm building a wall with these bricks. Can't you see that?”

The visitor thanked the man for his reply and moved on to the last mason. Once again, he posed the question, but this time he received a very different answer. The worker replied, “Well, I am using these bricks to build a cathedral for all my neighbors. I live right around the corner. It will be beautiful.”

After telling the story, ask the audience to revisit the short description they wrote to describe what they do at work to see if they would now make any changes. The authors have used this approach in training sessions for factory floor employees. In one situation, with people responsible for printing a newspaper, a veteran and respected worker stood and told how he changed his perspective on doing his job after hearing the “Boston Bricks” tale.

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