With the inauguration last week of Barack Obama, it is apparent that organizations of all sectors would benefit from applying some of the principles that guided his campaign and first days in office. For example:
A. Vibrant values. In most organizations that I’ve worked with, neither employees nor managers can rhyme off their organization’s values. In Obama’s world, the values he stands for are crystal clear. In his first days in office he took decisive action that powerfully demonstrated his commitment to them. Palpable, actionable values are immensely important to any organization.
B. A `sticky’ message. Obama’s “yes, we can” is a uniting, over-arching message that resonated deeply beyond conventional boundaries. It is `sticky’ in that once you hear it, the message stays with you. Even my yoga instructor this week, as we were struggling with a particularly challenging pose, cheerfully encouraged, “yes, we can!”. And in Toronto, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation’s message is also simple and sticky: “Conquer Cancer!”
Such messages mobilize massive numbers of people, helping them work in unison towards a common cause.
C. Get them deeply involved. Obama’s grassroots campaign led millions of people to feel that they have a personal stake in his success. He gave them a voice, encouraged initiative and listened attentively to their ideas. Conversely, many organizations have alienated their people into an “us versus them” mentality, leading to rampant disengagement. Shifting to a “let’s involve our people” organizational paradigm is a must for any organization wishing to succeed in today’s world.
I’ll share a couple more Obama-inspired organizational principles in the next blog entry.
In the meantime, I invite you to consider: how can YOUR organization apply these principles?
