What Does Success Look Like?

0:09 so we've talked about the first question 0:10 why do we do what we do the core purpose 0:13 the second question that we've 0:16 discovered as part of these visions that 0:18 really compel people and create a shared 0:19 sense of direction the second question 0:22 that you have to be able to answer for 0:24 your team 0:25 is what does success look like 0:29 some organ organizations that i've 0:31 worked with call this their definition 0:34 of victory 0:35 or their definition of success 0:38 i'm going to share with you a couple of 0:40 examples and just like the former 0:42 question then i'm going to ask you 0:44 to for your team think about what does 0:47 success look like and how clearly is 0:49 that defined 0:50 today so here's an example of a core 0:53 purpose statement 0:54 this organization answered the first 0:56 question why do we do 0:58 what we do as follows to prevent and 1:00 alleviate human suffering 1:02 in the face of emergencies by mobilizing 1:06 the power of volunteers 1:08 and the generosity of donors any guesses 1:11 as to what organization this is 1:15 this is ultimately still to this day 1:18 the american red cross who operates 1:20 globally 1:21 when there are events that cause human 1:25 suffering 1:26 and their purpose is to prevent and 1:28 alleviate that human suffering by 1:30 mobilizing their resources both people 1:33 and money but what's really interesting 1:36 about the american red cross 1:37 as a global organization is how they've 1:41 defined 1:42 success for the organization for the 1:44 teams within that organization 1:46 and ultimately the employees that choose 1:48 to be part of this organization 1:51 as well as all the partners that work 1:53 with the american red cross 1:56 this is how the american red cross has 1:58 answered the question 2:00 what does success look like i want you 2:02 to think about the organizations that 2:04 you either work in today or that you 2:06 worked in before were those 2:08 organizations 2:09 as crystal clear as the american red 2:11 cross about defining what 2:13 success ultimately looked like the 2:16 american red cross through its strong 2:17 network of volunteers donors partners 2:21 is always there in a time of need we 2:23 aspire to turn compassion into action 2:26 so that and this is the real really 2:28 important piece 2:29 of what the american red cross is doing 2:31 here is they're defining for all of 2:34 their various stakeholders 2:35 their quote unquote customers what 2:38 success looks like 2:39 so for all people affected by disaster 2:42 across the country around the world 2:44 that they receive care shelter and hope 2:48 our communities are ready and prepared 2:51 for disasters 2:53 everyone in our country has access to 2:56 safe 2:56 life saving blood and blood products 3:00 all members of our armed services and 3:02 their families 3:04 find support and comfort whenever needed 3:06 and finally 3:08 in a time of emergency there are always 3:10 trained individuals nearby 3:12 ready to use their red cross skills to 3:15 save lives 3:17 want you to think about what you see 3:20 here 3:22 how is the american red cross defining 3:24 its vision 3:25 of what success ultimately looks like 3:28 one key point is they're defining each 3:31 of their stakeholders whether it's the 3:32 people affected by disaster whether it's 3:34 the communities they work in 3:36 their home country members of the armed 3:38 services 3:40 again people affected by emergency or 3:43 the people who 3:44 need to go to these emergencies to help 3:48 the folks who are in a time of need 3:51 it identifies all the various 3:53 stakeholders but then it goes one step 3:54 further which is to say 3:56 if we are successful as the american red 3:58 cross then what is true for each of 4:00 those stakeholders 4:02 so for the people affected by disaster 4:03 they receive care shelter and hope 4:06 for the communities that we work in they 4:08 are ready and prepared 4:11 for people everyone in our country they 4:13 have access to blood and blood products 4:16 so they're defining what this vision of 4:18 success ultimately looks like 4:21 in historical military terms commanders 4:24 often called this the commander's intent 4:27 they knew that when soldiers got onto 4:29 the battlefield lots 4:30 would change everything they had planned 4:33 for 4:34 there would always be something that was 4:35 uncertain and so they talked about a 4:37 commander's intent as being the vision 4:39 for ultimately what success looked like 4:42 so that when the soldiers went to battle 4:44 they ultimately could figure it out 4:47 in times of changing markets or changing 4:51 resources or changing environment 4:55 but they still had a vision for what 4:57 success looked like at the end of the 4:59 day 4:59 and they could adapt accordingly and 5:01 that's why it's so critical so important 5:03 that you answer this second question 5:05 about what does success ultimately look 5:07 like 5:08 i would encourage you to go around to 5:10 all of your team members 5:11 even if you're not the formal leader of 5:13 that team 5:14 and ask them do you have a clear 5:16 understanding of of what success looks 5:19 like if we're successful what does our 5:20 world look like 5:22 for our customers for our employees for 5:23 any other stakeholders that you might 5:25 have 5:26 and see if you can get clear answers to 5:28 that question if you cannot that 5:29 presents an opportunity for you 5:31 to then go engage with those team 5:34 members 5:35 and work together to define what success 5:38 looks like 5:39 let me give you another example we've 5:41 done the american red cross now let's go 5:42 to a for-profit example 5:45 this is again back to 1950 we've talked 5:49 about this company so now you'll know it 5:51 this is again from a historical document 5:54 with the company articulating if we're 5:57 successful as a company 5:58 here's what the world will look like 6:01 here's what they said 6:02 we will experience the sheer joy of 6:04 innovation let me stop there 6:07 how many of you have ever worked in a 6:08 team a company an 6:10 organization where that company was 6:12 about the sheer joy of anything 6:15 in this company ultimately sony 6:18 their first statement about if we're 6:21 successful 6:22 was we will experience the sheer joy of 6:25 innovation 6:26 and to continue the application of 6:28 technology for the benefit and pleasure 6:30 of the general public 6:32 we will create products that become 6:34 pervasive around the world we will be 6:36 the first 6:36 japanese company to go into the u.s 6:38 market and distribute directly 6:41 we will succeed with innovations that 6:42 u.s companies have failed at such as the 6:44 transistor radio 6:45 remember this is 1950 if you do not know 6:47 what a transition to radio is 6:50 you should go search on the internet to 6:52 find out 6:53 50 years from now our brand name will be 6:56 as well known as any in the world 6:58 and will signify innovation and quality 7:00 that rival the most innovative 7:02 companies anywhere important made in 7:05 japan will mean something fine 7:07 not something shoddy again if we think 7:10 about 7:11 this vision of what success looks like i 7:13 would say sony was pretty 7:15 successful in their pursuit of 7:18 that vision of success and their answer 7:21 to 7:22 the second question which is 7:25 if we're successful what will the world 7:27 look like what's our definition of 7:29 success