"The obvious isn’t obvious until someone points it out to you." - Marcus Collins

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Marcus Collins speak at my company’s Executive Summit. It was a week of collaboration, learning, and transformation as we came together to engage around our evolved purpose, strategy, and fundamentals (the core behaviors we think are essential to our success.) I could not have been more impressed with the way he consolidated so eloquently all my beliefs and assertions around culture, company purpose, and how these concepts are very commonly applied in centuries-old institutions serving as great examples for how companies can leverage the power of culture, purpose, and community to influence people to come together to achieve a common purpose. He delivered these concepts in a way that spoke to all of us. We all walked away excited to take action based on our newfound language that so clearly made us aware of how profoundly our company’s culture will unlock our ability to achieve our goals and more importantly have a huge impact on improving lives. But, only with the right circumstances: a leadership team that models the behaviors we want our team members to embody and through our ability to create an environment which nurtures these desired ways of working together. These ingredients (yes! I’ve jumped in headfirst into using my new company’s vernacular!) will have a measurable impact to – as Marcus says – “get people to move.” Most everyone said his presentation was one of their favorite parts of the conference.

So where do we go from here? How do we take this inspiration and use it to mobilize our collective passion around fulfilling our purpose and doing it through the behaviors we agree are the best way to deliver on our purpose? Here are a few suggestions we discussed and some other ideas based on my experience:

1.????? Remove obstacles through practiced change management techniques: brainstorm the ways people could get stuck (emotionally, mentally, and even physically) from applying some of the mindsets we want them to adopt.

2.????? Integrate desired behaviors into the ways we work including in our hiring practices (interview questions, candidate evaluation, and ultimately the hiring decision), initiation through onboarding, evaluation through performance management and ongoing feedback conversations, rewards (including bonuses and promotions) and recognition, and inclusion in meeting practices.

3.????? Communicate, communicate, communicate. And once we’re sick of saying it, say it 1,000 times more until the very last person believes! Related, consistently share stories and incorporate clear examples of people demonstrating the desired behaviors and using this as a key reason the person / project / sale was successful .

4.????? Create mini check-in opportunities to provide a pause where people can evaluate if they are living the desired behaviors intentionally or if they need a tune up.

5.????? Create learning around how to demonstrate the behaviors where team members share examples of ways they have already done this and ways they can demonstrate the behaviors in upcoming situations.

6.????? Create rituals that remind us of our purpose and fundamentals: one of our team members gave examples of how Amazon has a chair in each meeting room to remind them of their obsession with the customer; and Google X has a day to commemorate the ideas that didn’t work out and celebrates the effort that went into them (knowing that most projects were destined to fail.)

I encourage you all to read Marcus’ book, For The Culture, and incorporate his eloquent consolidation of these essential concepts using well-known techniques to build and expand your company’s powerful purpose, culture, and ways of working.?