"Big Why" vs. "Little Why"

My grade school sports coaches are forever etched in my memory. They made an impression on me I remember to this day. Why? Not because they were exceptional strategists that helped guide me to superstar status, but because of "why" they were coaching. Looking back, they were coaching back then because they believed in the importance of family and putting the right things into our "moral warehouses" as young boys.

How do I know this was "why"?

Today, as an adult I still have contact with these men. What I sensed a long time ago as a grade school boy, I know is true of these men interacting with them today. They are family men, interested in helping others and sacrificing on a regular basis for the greater good. I didn't know this about them as a boy. I didn't have the same "lenses" on as I do today.

Digressing back to the title of this blog entry, a "big why" is personal and has nothing to do with business or achievement of something external to ourselves. A "little why" is organizational, it is an expected change and has everything to do with business or achievement of something external to ourselves.

The point of all this is to validate a simple truth that tends to become cloudy as an adult. Have clarity on your "big why" as a leader of your organization and back it up with actions. You'll attract those with a "big why" that aligns with yours and the "little why," the what (strategy) and the "how" (tactics) will take care of themselves.

Is This Great or What?

Shamefully, I remember a movie from my teenage years called "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." In a scene from that movie, one of the main characters - "Demone," shared one of his attitudes on life. He stated: "act like wherever you are, THATS the place to be." To accentuate his point, at that moment, he happened to be standing next to the restroom in a shopping mall....

My wife is from a small town called Sturgis, Michigan. Being from Dallas, Texas and having lived in the same three square miles my whole life, I thought my wife would naturally think my lifestyle in a metropolitan city would be great. My church, my grade school for our children, my friends.... Why would you want anything else? Isn't this great?

What I've learned is that it's important to actively invite others to introduce some of their culture into your world. It makes the other person happy and all enjoy a richer experience.

As leaders, we tend to have Demone's attitude about our own little worlds, which can cause myopia and stagnation in our homes and organizations.

I'm vacationing with my family in Sturgis, Michigan (my wife's hometown, population 10,000) for the month of July. We're picking blueberries, visiting an Amish family and swimming in Lake Michigan. If I could read my wife's mind, she's probably thinking, "Isn't this great?" My reply would be "it's the place to be." 

Implementation, Implementation, Implementation of Collaboration

It's summertime and our 5 young kids are out of school. It's only week one and yes, the behavioral flare-ups of hot, tired, irritable children have already begun. I share with them they have to practice being caring to one another, but they might be thinking "how do you do that?" or in reference to collaborative behavior in professional terms, "how do you implement collaboration?"

Regardless, without hesitation they all nod their heads up and down in compliance to my request. As adults, in one form or fashion, we do the same thing, don't we? Five minutes later, when the next challenging situation occurs like two of the children vying for one specific, crucial, all-important lego piece, my kids fall back into uncaring behavior (as do most adults).

Why?

Lack of knowing how to implement kindness or in professional terms, collaboration.

If you can break implementation into bite-size pieces it's not as difficult and it looks less like work.

Here's an example. In the twelve years I've been blessed to experience parenthood, there are small number of situations that cause the majority of the grief. One of these situations is leaving for church on time on Sundays. What behaviors used to exist at the Smith household if you were a fly on the wall?

1. Doing something that wasn't important or urgent when we first wake-up on Sunday mornings
2. Waiting until the last minute to shower
3. Acting in a hurried, tense, uncaring manner just focused on ourselves

The result was chaos, frustration and not enough time to compose ourselves before church started.

We simply changed a few behaviors and started waking-up earlier and dressing for church before doing anything else. No more chaos, frustration and we arrive at church about 10 minutes early, composed and ready to praise God.

Where can we implement collaboration in our organizations?

Do You Know Where the Target is? (3 of 3)

Step 3. Make your call to action with the client

When you feel you know where the target is (what the client is personally, really buying), do what Avis did so successfully in the 1970's and what Warren Buffet's company, Berkshire Hathaway still does today on the first page of their annual report - admit a weakness and follow-up with the strength that aligns most closely with the client's big picture "why" and ask then, for the business.

In Avis' case, their biggest rival was the number one rental car company in the U.S., Hertz. Their biggest weakness was being number two and everyone knew it. In their ads, Avis would lead with "we're #2" and follow-up with "but we try harder."

As a business traveler, how effective would this be on you?

Do You Know Where the Target is? (2 of 3)

To get to a decision faster, we have to know where the client's "target" is.

3 steps to illuminate the target:

Step 2. Draw-out, at the appropriate time, "why?"

• What's the client's personal, big picture "why" for doing what they are doing? Avoid confusing this with the organization's mission or vision statement. The client's personal, big picture "why" should align with the organization's mission or vision hopefully. Also, avoid confusing the client's big picture "why" with the little "why" which is the change(s) expected for the client's organization as a result of the project you are discussing. 

Behind every organization's little "why" is the client's personal, big picture "why." If we don't know the big picture "why," we reduce ourselves to commodity status. Knowing the big picture "why" helps us align our big picture "why" with the client's and raise ourselves to peer status. Our discussions pivot away from price to value for money and collaboration implementation.  

Do You Know Where the Target is? (1 of 3)

To get to a decision faster, we have to know where the client's "target" is.

3 steps to illuminate the target:

Step 1. Find answers to the following questions:

• What are the client organization's prioritized objectives and values (if they write these or you print them from their website for reference during your visit it's more powerful)?
• What's the client's peak experience; a time they felt most alive, most engaged and most proud on a project? Ask them for specifics to bring the experience to life.
• What would heighten the health and vitality of the organization or project?

Why Do You Think It's All About You?

I shared this recently with a group that I am involved with as a participant. Like many groups, participation starts strong and can wane, which occurs when people only consider themselves.... Also, over time, we tend to lose perspective on what exactly the time commitment is and when we regain it, it increases our resolution to the group. 

"I hope you would agree, half the value generated by a professional development opportunity is the interaction among participants. 

There are three dimensions to our group experience and most only think of one - whether or not they were able to make it to the session. If they miss, it only impacts themselves....

When someone is absent from the group it impacts the second dimension, which is our group. It impacts the ideas generated and the quality of the relationships formed by the group. It also impacts the third dimension which is the organizations represented by the group and future groups like ours. Hopefully we all learn something from the group and pass it on to our organizations.  

My request is to re-prioritize your commitments and be present for the 6 hours we have left together over the next three months."