The Power of WHY: The Key to Uniting Employees Around Your Company Vision [March 2016 BPN Webinar]

Editor's Notes

1. who is here? some have own company, some work for a company. we are going to talk about the power of why- what is it, why is it so important, how do you find it and how do you connect to your employees with it. doesn’t matter where you fall on the spectrum of knowing your why- you will get a lot of value out of what i’m sharing here is not widely discussed and based in the newest findings of psychology and neuroscience.
2. vulnerability
3. #1 problem when we are stuck…looking deeper at how this is connected to what we know about brain science and how to build a strong foundation for success in your business. fi
4. divergent thinking: most successful businesses know how to pivot quickly and powerfully, how to innovate and engage.
5. HBR: 2004, MFA is new MBA IBM 2010 CEO study
6. so the first problem i often see with clients is that they don’t use their fullest brain’s potential- they tend to rely on a critical, limited and analytic (impersonal) way of thinking. this doesn’t help when it comes to relationships with employees and creating lasting results we NEED to bring in the right brain more.
7. and we do that in taking a look at the larger big picture. the second thing that is often missing is companies is a BIG vision- a strong understanding of the company mission or what I call the ‘why’. many companies think they have this but really don’t- will explain more.
8. main problem i see with entrepreneurs I work with is they chase the money. end up stuck and unfulfilled. able to connect to right clients who want what you have/good match- this is where you achieve FLOW
9. what makes a why so important?? it anchors teams, decision making
10. connects you to who you want to serve
11. study showed 60% of consumers pay more for a product that makes a difference and contributes to the world. when choice is between two products of same cost- 92% purchase that which is more of a contribution
12. knowing your why is the number one crucial step to performance on all levels- engaging employees AND customers (which leads to revenue)
13. not going to find your vision with left brain analysis and limited thinking.
14. why connects you to ideal client and employees. you and teams are 4x more engaged at work, 47% increase in experience of abundance
15. context- authentic- if doesn’t touch your heart how will it touch that of your customers or your employees. so not only is a why the foundation to the success of your business but how you discover it is equally important. my experience and research has shown that vision boards are an extremely effective and unique tool to do that. why? because it taps into our underused right brain and our fullest potential. can’t accomplish this overnight- this is a process that can take several sessions or a full day workshop.
16. the process i bring my clients through…
17. my ‘secret sauce’- no one else i know is doing this with companies. and it is highly effective because of it uses the best of what we know in science and psychology.
18. highly recommend using visual thinking for ANY Challenge, communication and problem solving. choose engaging images to entice your employees
19. once you’ve discovered the company the key to success in engaging your employees is getting interested in their why. ideally their why will be closely related to that of the company- they will be more inspired to work and be involved on many levels. #1- survey, focus groups. 2. offer what they want and a couple. options 3. look at the company culture- is the focus on work? if so the volunteer may occur like another ‘to-do’. 4. make it fun- add incentives, rewards, contests