The Power of Purpose

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you know why." Craig Forman

Great piece on the Power of Purpose.

Nothing beats it - not talent, courage or luck.

Talent & courage, exercised in the wrong direction, are aimless.

(At worst, they can be destructive. Who needs a talented, courageous terrorist?)

And Luck generally evens out in the long term.

But Purpose is Polaris, the star by which we navigate, which forever pulls us forward.

Some people are lucky enough to know their life's purpose very young.

(My late father-on-law, the great Dr. Robert Guselle, knew at the age of five that he'd be a physician.)

Others have happy epiphanies, like Starbuck's CEO, Howard Shultz. "I'm going to bring European coffee culture to the world!"

Most of us struggle though, and when we figure it out, it's a happy day indeed.

The same applies, of course, to organizations.

Defining Purpose remains the senior leader's Job One, (followed by "What do we believe in?").

What's your Organization's Purpose?

Best regards,

Pascal



In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

Why is laughter important in business?
Target, Actual, Please Explain
Success is the Enemy of Future Success
There is No Right Answer in Strategy

Want to Make Better Decisions? Simplify…

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

Developing and deploying strategy entails hundreds or even thousands of decisions in a given year.

How do we make better decisions? (Can we raise our decision-making accuracy to six sigma levels – 3.4 defects per million decisions?)

Start by simplifying the chess board. Eliminate trivial, marginal, unnecessary and wasteful activities and factors.

In Chess, if you’re up a pawn on a full chessboard, a sure path to victory is to gradually simplify.

Eventually, your pawn and King face the opponent’s King, and victory is close.

Simplification in business serves the same purpose – the essentials stand out in sharp relief.

We can begin to focus.

In our wired world, simplification is counter-intuitive. If we remove stuff from our chessboard, if we clean up our various ‘screens’, we feel we’re missing something.

(Our motto seems to be “A finger in every pie!”. But that leaves us with sticky fingers and a ruined pies!)

If you accept my premise, the next question is: “How do we simplify?”

An excellent start is to reflect and confirm our Purpose.

What are we trying to achieve? What’s our Shining City on the Hill?

Define Purpose with drawings, dashboards, words and music if need be. Purpose clear as crystal eases simplification.

In Chess, purpose is clear – checkmate the opponent’s King!

We have to make our business Purpose as clear, and then communicate it gently, engagingly and repeatedly.

Simplification inevitably follows.

Best,

Pascal


In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

How do Adults Learn?
Back to Basics – Visual Management
Back to Basics – Visual Order
Back to Basics – Employee Engagement

The Power of Purpose + Homework Contest

HOMEWORK CONTEST - TOP THREE DRAWINGS WILL RECEIVE A FREE COPY OF PASCAL'S LATEST BOOK! (Details below)

By Pascal Dennis

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you know why." Craig Forman

Great piece on the Power of Purpose.

Nothing beats it - not talent, courage or luck.

Talent & courage, exercised in the wrong direction, are aimless.

(At worst, they can be destructive. Who needs a talented, courageous terrorist?)

And Luck generally evens out in the long term.

But Purpose is Polaris, the star by which we navigate, which forever pulls us forward.

Some people are lucky enough to know their life's purpose very young.

(My late father-on-law, the great Dr. Robert Guselle, knew at the age of five that he'd be a physician.)

Others have happy epiphanies, like Starbuck's CEO, Howard Shultz. "I'm going to bring European coffee culture to the world!"

Most of us struggle though, and when we figure it out, it's a happy day indeed.

The same applies, of course, to organizations.

Defining Purpose remains the senior leader's Job One, (followed by "What do we believe in?").

So here's a homework challenge for you all:

What's your Organization's Purpose?

You know the drill. Have fun! Don't worry if you 'can't draw'.

Stick figures, arrows, circles are fine.

Please send your efforts to Holly Simmons at holly.simmons@leansystems.org

Deadline: May 11

Top three drawings will receive a free copy of Pascal's latest book.

Let's see what happens!

Best regards,

Pascal

Pascal Dennis Bio