Revisit guidance - often
"Emotion is the best mnemonic device." Alice Fulton
What is the founding guidance of your organization? I'm talking about your vision, mission, and or directives or guidance you have issued to your team for a big project. This guidance is important as it informs and even inspires people each day. It provides needed direction and clarity as people navigate the friction of the day. Guidance keeps them on track and true to the founding of an organization or the intent of a project. It should be repeated and revisited, often - daily I submit.
The vision of the organizations I led was the beacon for every member to seek direction and focus. Everyone needed to be guided by it. Every member needed to ask themselves if what they were doing was aligned with our vision. They needed to push through the fog and friction to remain steadfast in the achievement of our vision. It would only happen if we frequently revisited it. This revisiting is a form of mnemonics.
Mnemonic according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary means assisting or attempting to assist memory. Mnemonic devices such as single words, short, inspirational vision statements, or jingles such as, "Yo Quiero Taco Bell," are designed to help humans remember. Phone numbers are broken up in separate groups of numbers, called chunking, a form of mnemonics designed to help us remember. A leader uses the same methodology with his or her guidance and the company vision and values. The repetitiveness of words, statements, and guidance is akin TV commercials and phone numbers and it should be as vision and guidance ought to be put to memory.
In my small business we suffered a string of errors because we were uncertain of the exact desires of our customers or the specifications of what we were ordering. "Leave no doubt," became our mantra. This forced us to achieve more precision. I wrote it on our dry erase board and repeated it often. When I started to hear it said back to me, I knew it was sinking in. Our errors decreased.
Revisit guidance at every opportunity. It is your duty as a leader. State your company vision with gusto before and at the end of every meeting. Have your company values printed on the wall for all to see. Restate your intent behind a big project numerous times to foster retention and compliance. Take the time to craft the vision, values, and the guidance which steers your organization and its people. Go to work on having everyone commit it to memory and, moreover, espouse it in word and deed. Don't let your guidance get lonely!
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell