In prior communications we have touched on the topics of Purpose, Vision, Core Values, and other foundational aspects as bedrock elements for the growth and stable success of your business and your leadership. As we guide leaders in the process of establishing these frameworks, we find that the exercise may have been done in the past, but the use and weaving them into the culture is weak if not absent.
As part of an effort to build a strategic plan, the leadership went through the steps of coming up with various aspects of a guidance system but never truly put it into place. It would be like someone indicating you need a GPS for your travels. You research them, buy one and put it in the glove box of your vehicle. It never gets pulled out to give your travels any guidance along your route.
It sounds crazy but the number of organizations which we encounter have done exactly that. They have the words on signs, but it is less and less frequently referenced let alone used in any decision-making efforts. One of the reasons is that the initial energy to come up with the elements ends up slowly drifting away from the conversation. It is because there is a lack of language and vocabulary to go along with the elements.
For example, when an organization identifies a core value such as “Respect.” It is critical that this term be defined and expanded into a principles statement so everyone on the team has not just the content of the word but also the context and application of the language. It needs vocabulary, which is internal, as well as external to clients, vendors, and all other relationships the company may have in the marketplace.
The vocabulary a business and its people use needs to be consistent to the brand. It needs to bring the brand and all its foundational elements into life. Like wind filling the sails of a ship to move it along in the water. With out wind in the sails the boat limps along at best. Once the wind fills the sails of the boat it can race across the water to its next location. The same is true for your business. The wind in your business is the vocabulary used to bring life to all aspects of your organization.
Once defined and utilized in everyday communication, this vocabulary becomes second nature. It also becomes consistent. The constant use of it established a sense of routine and discipline. It emphasizes what the organization is all about and how it views all the relationships it engages in. As another example, one of the phrases used at JKL Associates is “Your Partner in Progress.” This phrase has been around since the inception of the business now over 30 years. It captures the spirit by which our relationship with our clients, customers, vendors, and colleagues is going to be shaped and executed. We express our commitment to be a partner in the various efforts taken by those relationships involved with the organization. We are also giving guidance or assisting these relationships in a forward moving effort that contains progress.
From this example you can see how vocabulary can bring a business purpose into the language used with everyone who is touched by the business. This week, consider the language, vocabulary and communincation your organization uses. Is it consistent? Is it conveying the best side of your brand? Is it missing something which will elevate the relationships you have in the marketplace?
Looking to establish a vocabulary aligned with your brand to extend your best communincation? Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945 (MI) or (407) 984-7246 (FL).