In my program, Why The Successful Succeed I share a story about hearing Pete Carroll speak at a Football Coaches clinic. He asked the audience, “Raise your hand if you have a leadership philosophy.” Just about everybody raised their hand. He then asked, “Can you put it in 25 words or less?” Everybody put their hands down at that point. Carroll’s philosophy is just 2 words, “Win Forever.” Why ‘Win Forever’? Because their goal is to do things better than they’ve been done before not only on the field but in the classroom and in the community. If you asked any of his players assistant coaches, ticket sales staff or even groundskeepers when he was at USC what the organization’s philosophy was they would have all said the exact same thing “Win Forever”.
I ask a variation of his question to my audiences. Why is this important? Because if you do not have absolute clarity about who you are and what you stand for, your people and your customers won’t have clarity about it either. To be able to say it concisely in a sound bite will facilitate understanding and recall. When you can do this other people notice are attracted and will pay attention.
I know I took notice and was absolutely blown away by one young lady during my speaking engagement in Olean, NY two weeks ago. I asked audiences of executives from 60 companies if they could articulate their organization’s philosophy. Could you say it clearly and concisely enough to fit it into one sentence? Maybe not as tight as the 2 words Win Forever but I asked them to take out their smart phones and either say it in a tweet or a text.
There was one woman who immediately blurted out her organization’s philosophy, “One Focus, Serving You”. It was so top of mind she said it practically before I finished asking the question. She works in marketing at a local Credit Union. According to her, this statement isn’t just a catchy slogan; it’s their north star and guides all of the organization’s decisions. (The takeaway: clarity and focus are a big part of why the successful succeed.) If you look at the success of credit unions versus big banks in this economy you need to look no further than focus and service. Banks are for-profit entities owned by shareholders; consequently they are focused on decisions to make the quarterly numbers look good to their shareholders often at the expense of the customer. Credit unions on the other hand are non-profit entities owned by their members (the customers). Is it any wonder that credit unions are thriving and growing while there is public mistrust of big banks?
I haven’t worked with this credit union but I bet if you walked in and asked employees in various departments what their philosophy was you would receive the same answer. Clarity of focus brings about powerful action. Please tweet me your philosopy I’m @CoachBruon Twitter.