Where's your mindset pointed?

This is the first article in a four-part series. The series explores three themes and culminates in a wrap-up of musings timed for the new year....

Stuck in the past, or visioning the future?

For many, there is pride in the past.?From the founding tale to heroic efforts at key junctures.?From humble beginnings to multi-national status. Companies that have grown or grown up can generally tell a story of how they have arrived at where they are and usually this story carries a sense of pride.?If one or more of the founders is still around then they will no doubt look back fondly at the timeline and the efforts that define the journey from the past to the present.?Perhaps the story of the company’s start is a “basement story” (or garage), and the journey is one of growth in numbers and stature, from “my basement”, to hundreds or thousands of employees now occupying multiple corporate suites.?From a single, original client to a list now that may be a subset of the Fortune 500.?If the journey involved acquisitions, either being acquired or acquiring others, then no doubt these catapulted the growth, and the delta in the numbers becomes even more impressive.?Telling the story, especially for those who have been around for a large part of it, can very easily become the language lens of the company.?A lens that looks backward in time.

Andy Bounds, in his book “The Jelly Effect”, is critical of people and companies who “fling jelly” – particularly in the sales process - hoping something sticks.?That is, it is not uncommon to have salespeople talk about how big their company is, how old it is, in how many countries they are represented, when it was founded, who the clients are, etc., all just “jelly”. This jelly is flung, probably with the intention to impress and to establish credibility, and most likely with the hope that one of the facts will resonate – that the jelly will stick.?“Oh, you’re in that country too? That’s good for us.”?Or “you have 5,000 employees – you must be doing something right”; “you’ve been going since 1984 and now have revenue of $1bn – you’re rock solid!”?Flinging jelly is part of that language lens that is rear facing – it talks to the past.?

The thing about the rear facing language lens is that it means a lot to the people IN the organization – particularly the leadership - but a lot less to those OUTSIDE.?It’s a form of self-congratulatory validation. It’s no assurance of the future, however.?And the future is what those outside of the leadership team are cared about.?Clients and employees, current and prospective, have their own goals and aspirations and it’s only if these have something in common with the company’s that this crossover brings mutual gain.?Companies that can articulate a clear and convincing vision along with a demonstrable past should be that much more appealing and enticing than those only able to talk about the past.?As is written in the small print of most investment products or brochures, past performance is no guarantee of future results.?The same advice should be given when selecting a company – either as service provider or as employer.?Sure, listen to “the story” of how the company started and grew, but listen much more carefully for how much the language is weighted to the past versus the future.

Simon Sinek writes that “‘Vision’ is the ability to talk about the future with such clarity it is as if we are talking about the past.”?And therein lies the challenge.?For many, it’s easy to talk about the past.?It’s natural.?It’s based on memory.?It usually involves a good story – a story of success.?The future on the other hand is unknown. Unpredictable; it could go in any direction.?It is likely to be tougher, more competitive.?The past is based on fact – you can’t really dispute it – whereas the future is yet to happen and anyone who lays out plans and a vision stands open to be judged or criticized on that.?These are all the reasons, however, for why it’s even more important for a company to have a language lens that is forward facing.?“If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” is one of many quotes which talks to the importance of having a vision.?Yet many do poorly when it comes to articulating a vision.?Many think that by throwing down some numbers, and other jelly, that this equates to vision.?“We’ll grow revenue by x%”.?“We’ll be in these markets”.?“Our headcount will be …”

My own experience has shown me companies on both sides of this one; some who talk almost exclusively about the past with no language about the future (outside of some aspirational statements), and others with some language about the past if you look for it, but front-and-center is the vision and the plans to achieve this.?Aside from these two, opposite, language lenses, here are some more significant differences I’ve noticed:

Past-focused company:

• High staff turnover (north of market average)
• Low levels of innovation beyond their first few years of existence – what they did then is what they do today.?Their IP is stale!?
• No evidence of succession planning.
• No or very little spend on learning & development.
• Non-existent, or very poorly defined, job family or career pathing definitions.
• Margin squeeze: ?They’re now in a commodity cycle where price is pressured but they’ve not reinvented themselves or innovated their way into anything different.

Future-Focused:

• Purposeful innovation efforts,
• Constant and renewed energy goes into aligning career paths and frameworks with the company vision and strategy,
• Learning and development – spend and programs - features heavily, giving employees the opportunity to grow/transform themselves as the company grows/transforms itself.
• Succession plans align with the organizations plans,
• Employee retention beats the market average,
• Expansion of services/product range allows margins to be retained if not improved.

Looking at your company today, what is the dominant language??If you joined recently, did you go through an induction session and if so, which tense received more airtime: the past or the future??Can you more easily articulate your company’s past than you can its future, or is the future that clear you can talk about it with as much pride and passion as anyone else would about it’s past??What about your own set of skills and experience and where you want these to take you – can you see an intersect with the company’s plans??Looking at your company intranet, or at the transcript/presentation from a recent Town Hall or “All Hands” meeting – can you lay your hands on something that represents your company’s vision (outside of basic numbers and other jelly)??When your CEO outlines the strategy, does s/he do a good job on painting a future picture or are the words all used up in explaining the process s/he and the leadership team followed and on what version number of a strategy document they’re now on?

Employees and prospective employees: Pay attention to the language lens; is it past or future?

CEO and company leadership:?Visioning and strategizing are big topics, but this is what leadership is about!?We need to be intentional about the language lens we allow to prevail.?This intentionality may just be the subtle change needed to open the door for more conversation and ultimately better visioning and planning for our organizations’ future.

Next in the series: "Sales: Are you led or driven?"

NOTE:?The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any employer, past or present. Examples, anecdotes and analysis shared are drawn from personal experience, interactions, and observations over many years.?Assumptions made and conclusions drawn are those of the author and are not reflective of the position with any employer, past or present.