When the ancient Greeks invaded, they burned their ships so there was no choice but to move forward. By "burning the boat" on your next initiative, you can motivate your employees to contribute to the objective and help your business succeed.
Nilofer Merchant
When we work with teams, we often find that members agree in principle, yet may not support the direction of the company.
How often has this type of scenario unfolded at your smaller business: The company decides to move sales (or marketing, or finance, or any other unit) in a new direction. An announcement goes out, a meeting is held, heads nod in agreement. Then day two merges into week two and that soon becomes month two. Somewhere in there you realize that no one is supporting the new direction. And there's no talk about it -- life goes on just as it did before. It's as if all the planning, meeting, and strategizing never happened.
First you're mad, then you blame yourself, then you wonder what you could have done to get the point across and keep things on track.
Thucydides, in his "History of the Peloponnesian War," wrote about the solution one general came up with in ancient Greece: "...burning their boats so as to have no hope except in becoming masters of the country." This legendary military decision eliminated all possibility of retreat. The troops knew there was no way out but through, and performance occurred because the situation narrowed the options to perform or die.
Now, business isn't basic training and you can't act like a Marine drill instructor at Parris Island to motivate your employees (much less burn down the office), but you can set the stage for excellent performance. How? Here are nine ideas any smaller business leader can start using immediately:
- Specify the Destination
Your team needs to know what the new destination is and how to get there. How you communicate that influences whether you'll get there. Why that destination? Why is it important? Make sure the goal is worth pursuing, announce the new move, and make sure there is a specific launch -- a particular date and even an event will help your team remember that a large change occurred.
- Make the Move Necessary
Those who want to hang onto the old boat will burn up with it. There must be a penalty for clinging to the old. For example, the point of demarcation might be a change in procedure. For example, changing the form of ID required to enter the building; after a certain date, you can't get in without the new. Mark the change with tangible and intangible elements to reinforce the desired behavior in all areas of the company.
- Dismantle the Old Infrastructure
Don't continue to support the old business. If you've decided to let go of your router business, consider selling it, renaming it, or some other way of making it clear that things have changed in a fundamental way. Don't feed the old systems by providing them a large slice of the budget, mentioning them in company-wide meetings, or including them in sales off-site. They're gone -- bury them.
Don't Miss:
Show Your Employees More Than the Money
- Talk About the New
With every meeting, there should be a conversation that acknowledges and brings the new product or department into focus. You've got to reiterate how important these new people, new roles, new products, or new processes are to bringing in revenue. Relate them to current operations; spend a disproportionate amount of time talking about the new. As a leader, you signal to your team what's important to you (consciously or unconsciously) by how much time you spend on it. If you tune in and talk about it -- the team will, too.
- Only Hire in the New Focus
Look for people that match the new way of doing business, the new line of products. If engineering needs to regroup around Linux, don't hire lots of experts in Ajax or Perl. Make sure that every new hire extends your reach into the new space by providing knowledge and capabilities that will help you get where you're going.
Next Page: Reward People Based on the New Focus
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