Note:  If you have a goal or a dream or a vision, pay close attention to these tips.  They will help you be a better manager, which will help you boost morale and productivity, which will help you get 2 goal – making that vision or dream or goal a reality.

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People want to help, to work hard, to make a difference.  Though they have dreams of their own – they are also willing to help you achieve yours.  But first – they must know what yours are.

A dream or vision is easier to share if you can paint a picture of it with words – like Dr. King did in 1963 in one of the most famous speeches of all times. “I have a dream”.

When possible, an actual picture is even better.  It certainly would have helped those of us on the decorating committee with Connie, whose  vision seemed to be missing in action .  Because as stated in a recent Quote of the Week :

When you can paint a picture – either literally or figuratively – and share it with passion, there will most likely be a sense of joy and relief for you AND those you lead. Mainly because you all get to escape that maddening pin ball wizard.

Connie actually did have a vision.  And it came true.  But the process was like a nightmare.  It would have been so much easier if she had shown us a picture of her vision.  Or better yet – involved us in the creation of it.

Like Mr. Honda did.  I once read a story about it in a newsletter from Dr. Alan Zimmerman, who explained that in 1958, Honda was mainly in the motorcycle business.    But Mr. Honda dreamed of something bigger – to build more cars than Ford, which at the time, was the biggest auto maker in the world.   Mr. Honda gathered his staff together and asked them to contribute ideas.   The only rule was that along with the idea, the presenter must be able to explain how it would help them beat Ford. By around 1992, Honda was selling more Honda Accords than Ford was selling its Taurus.

Getting others involved in the dreaming is important.  Sharing the dream is important too.  But it won’t work to simply share it in a memo or the employee handbook.  There must be plans and systems.  And above all – there must be constant reminders of the vision and its importance and meaning to the group.  And there must be consistent reinforcement of the actions and behaviors that will make the vision a reality.

Now – I don’t know the details of how all of this happened at Honda, so I’ll share another example – one in which I was closely involved.

Imagine paper chains hanging on bulletin boards. Growing longer to continue over doors. Over cubicle walls.  These served as constant reminders to “maintain the chain”.

It grew from a tough time during which I was running a company called University Directories.  We were living our dream  of being a solid company,  with a spotless record for on-time delivery and an excellent reputation for quality and service.  We worked incredibly hard but we had fun doing it – well – most of the time.  BUT – all of this was slipping away.

We had doubled in size two years in a row. Systems were stretched. Okay – they were broken. To smithereens.

There was much finger pointing. Of course it was the sales department’s fault because they kept selling ads beyond the deadline. No – it was production’s fault because they didn’t hire enough people. But if the printers were faster none of this would matter.

It wasn’t easy but finally each of us took responsibility for our link in the chain. And realizing that it only took one weak link to break it, we re-committed to ourselves and to each other to keep our individual links strong and got down to some objective problem solving about how to make it happen.  All of this happened at day long team retreat.

You know how individuals or teams often come up with ideas or solutions that stay in the conference room – i.e. they never get implemented?

One of the many ways we kept this from happening was by recognizing and reinforcing progress with Chain Link Awards.  These were simple strips of green (our corporate color) copier paper on which we wrote or typed an action taken by a team member – an action which demonstrated his  or her dedication to maintaining the chain. At first there was lots of eye rolling around the table as people received their awards at the weekly staff meeting.  The little links, seemingly meaningless, would sit or hide around in a notebook or on a desk.   Soon though, staff members who had received several, would link theirs together and push pin them to their bulletin boards.

As people got attention and appreciation for it, more and more people got the picture about the importance of maintaining the chain.  And it wasn’t long before there were paper chains adorning every person’s door or window or cubicle wall or bulletin board.

These chains were made of paper – but turned our team into a chain of steel. It seemed nothing could break our chain. Deadlines were met. Our speed increased for every stage of the process.  Our customers became even happier than they already were.  So did our stock holders.  And – perhaps best of all – we were having a blast.

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A Powerful Formula for  Making Your Vision or Dream a Reality = Vision +  A Plan + Action + Reinforcement

An Even More Powerful Formula for  Making Your Vision or Dream a Reality = Vision(I) +  A Plan(I) + Action(I) + Reinforcement(I)

I = Involvement from the Implementors

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If you’d like help determining your vision, your goals and a plan for reaching them, contact us about our coaching programs and team retreats.

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