Building a Culture
Building a Culture
Part Three of Five
of the “What is Fusion?” series
So far we’ve focused on the art of public speaking, improving communication skills and the fundamentals of presentations – all through the use of “Ready, Set, Go!”. Now your people know how to define excellence in communication – and how to manifest it. Let’s take the lessons of “Ready, Set, Go!” and apply them to creating the stories that the firm will tell in all media. But let’s not stop there.
*What if we started using “Ready, Set, Go!” as a framework for collaborative story development – getting people involved in the process from all over the organization? (No more carping about the exclusivity of the marketing team…)
*What if marketing used the same approach to create literature?
*What if we used the same tools on the sales desk?
*What if training were developed and delivered using “Ready, Set, Go!” as a model? In this way, people would see other departments in the organization demonstrating the same skills and thinking.
*What if this approach was used to manage and run meetings – even national meetings?
Now we’d have a shot at making “One Story, Many Voices!” a reality – aligned communication channels with attendant improvements in sales volume and sales effectiveness. The demonstrated impact of a single message, repeated across all media and all communication channels is arguably the most powerful tool at management’s disposal.
So, now communication across all channels is pretty well handled and totally aligned. It’s in the air we breathe. “It’s the water in which we swim…” “It’s a Culture of Communication.” One might say we’ve created a foundation, in fact a “Cornerstone” on which our culture can rest.
Hold onto your hat – it’s about to get interesting…
Now let’s talk about sales.
Sales
What if we began to sell as counselors – an evolutionary change in our perspective and our practice? We’d talk less and listen more. Sometimes we wouldn’t suggest a product, but a service instead. We’d serve the client’s interests above our own. (Remember? Fiduciary. Profession.) Of course, this change doesn’t come about overnight. It might be the first step in once again elevating our firm, our industry and our nation to leadership. It might also be fun. And it might also become yet another cornerstone of corporate culture.
Want to take it further?
How do you keep all this training and skill from eroding when someone gets promoted?
Management
*What if your managers were the most skilled communicators in the company?
*What if they coached to the same standard of communication excellence?
*What if they drew the connection between excellent communication and excellent compensation?
*What if all managers shared the same understanding of what management actually is: a service provided by the manager to everyone in their department? Servant Management… (endless, cheerful, repeated coaching).
*What if management is not a promotion up, but a lateral move into the cultural structure of the company?
*What if, as a manager, you’re here to support and guide your reports as they take the firm to the next level? We’re here to help you grow into that much less egotistical and much more supportive role – it’s a lot like becoming a parent… it’s not about you, it’s about the team. Servant Management.
It might take a little training, and perhaps a manager support group and forum. Perhaps this is a Cornerstone, too.
So now the firm communicates with one voice, the management team has a shared perspective and a devotion to keeping the skills in place, and we’ve re-elevated sales to a service activity.
(Tired yet? This is the home stretch…)
Strategy
*What if all this emerged from an executive retreat where we relaxed, argued and created a broader vision for the future?
*Why are we here?
*What do we stand for?
*What can we contribute?
*What can separate us from our peers?
*How can we lead?
*How can we serve?
We think rediscovering the nobility in the work is what reawakens the individual dedication to career, company and country. We’d love to assist you in the search.
That’s it. Culture. What if we talk about it and teach it using “Ready, Set, Go!”? So the Cornerstones help us resist the urge to recreate it next month. Communication, Sales, Management and Strategy. Done right, it will outlast this generation and become the template future generations use to manage and grow the firm.
Crack this code and begin to play at a higher level. Fusion.
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