In working with clients this week, I’ve been reminded over and over
of one sections in Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Advantage – Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything in Business (which, if you haven’t read it, please do yourself a favor and do so).
We do all we can to keep it simple around here – truthfully, there are too many complications in life to make the people parts of your business more complicated than they need to be. But the following passage really sums up why organizational health (which can only be built with intention) is the be-all and end-all of succeeding when others fail. Enjoy.
Stooping to Greatness (Thank you Patrick Lencioni)
“I was attending a client’s leadership conference, sitting next to the CEO. This wasn’t just any company. it was, and still is, one of the healthiest organizations I have ever known and one of the most successful American enterprises of the past fifty years. In an indsutry plagued with financial woes, customer fury, and labor strife, this amazing company has a long history of growth and economic success, not to mention fanatical customer loyalty. Moreoever, its employees love their jobs, their customers, and their leaders. When compared to others in the same industry, what this company has accomplished seems almost baffling.
As I sat there at the conference listening to one presentation after another highlighting the remarkable and unorthodox activities that have made this organization so healthy, I leaned over and quietly asked the CEO a semirhetorical question: “Why in the world don’t your competitors do any of this”
After a few seconds, he whispered, almost sadly, “You know, I honestly believe they think it’s beneath them.”
And there it was.”
Intentional development of culture, intentional cultivation of talent, creating an environment where people WANT to belong – all of those things will create success versus the traditional and widely held beliefs of corporate America. And, please keep it simple would you?