?..Merry Christmas..?

We're approaching the Christmas season, and what does that tell us?

We're approaching a vacation that, for most, symbolizes the warmth of gifts and moments and the satisfaction of a break in the rhythm of our lives to reflect on the gifts we have received and to have fun without tension. On the other hand, it's also commercial. And it's also laden with things that are dangerously devoid of meaning like no other vacation in the Western world.

We wonder what people say about the "true meaning" of Christmas, also observes the actions we take during this time.

We could argue that the true meaning comes from experience, not from a received or lived extravagance. In other words, it's what's in the box that matters... Not the shell.

And this is where the true meaning in the Christmas sense is transferable to the true meaning in the business sense.

If enthusiasm is the wrapping of a gift that is convincingly presented, what is in the box when it comes to corporate strategies that actually guide an organization?

Personal meaning may come first.

? That can be purpose – what do we do for the community, for our customer, etc.?

? It can also be self-interest – what has value to me and my career?

? It can also be about others – how does the strategy impact my colleague?

?Personal meaning comes in different flavors. ?One casing can rarely hit all of them.

The second may be the credibility of the leadership.

?If I see the extravagance, it suggests a likely change to come. It excites me and anyone else in the organization. A changed organization, a renewed purpose, or a new challenge are all things that can feel daunting and otherwise compelling. They need credible leadership in this case. Always.

The third thing inside the wrapped box can be an honest appraisal.

?And this is where the fancy wrapper gets out of much credit value. In the drive to put a glossy finish on a company's strategic vision, we've lost the factual assessment that we just walked for miles with a donkey's back pain and gave birth in a stable after being turned away by the local hotel. ?Our circumstances may not be the brightest, most exuberant. ?They are as humble as possible most of the time. ?And there are times when we have to admit it since we are inside the box. And that strategy should be simple and real.

§ The fourth contents of the box deal with what people have to get... It's the requirements.

Our exuberant packs and packaging tend to minimize the requirements that are required of this strategy. ?Exterior packages tend to underestimate the difficulty of actually leading an organization in a direction full of challenges and difficulties. Equally, they underestimate our late nights at work, they underestimate difficult conversations and meetings, they underestimate our daily personal commitments challenged, modified or even canceled, social and family relationships that decline, for lack of coherent management, in this immense sea of acquired responsibilities.

In the Christmas story, we focus so much on the baby in the manger that we often forget about the journey of kings, or the sacrifices of parents. Transformative change comes with demands, requirements.

These are hard to convey just in the appearance of a shiny package of our Christmas gift!

?In conclusion, we all need to get a sense of the? likely consequences of strategic vision. ?The appearances, the fancy and shiny outer packages are great at expanding a new vision, but terrible at being clear about the consequences of that vision.

In this Christmas season that has become so invaded by glitter, let us not forget the complicated circumstances that also sustain the real meaning. ?What the corporate strategies that actually create changed organizations have in common with the meaning of Christmas, and that remain, is the focus on the arduous, simple realities inside the box at the expense of the shiny, gold-plated casing on the outside.

Our box has the simplicity of serving. Serve the customer. Serve every employee. To serve the world and the community in which we operate.

Perhaps your organization can benefit from what it has and receives inside this box. ?Maybe it's just up to you.

Merry Christmas..