Hi All,
Many of us have been rumbling with purpose, vision, and mission and this 2:48 video animates it so perfectly I want to share it with you. Summer is a great time to get clear on these things. With it, everything becomes easier and clearer; without it, it is difficult to know what to do. I rarely see it done as well as it is here.
Purpose is why our organization exists. It is, as they say in this video, “the reason we get up every morning.”
Vision is the aspirational thing we want our organization to achieve.
Some folks see this as useless bureau-speak. Not so. When done well, it will animate EVERYTHING your organization does as you will see in the next 2:48. For SW, their purpose is to connect people to what’s important to them through friendly, reliable, low-cost air travel. Their vision is to become the worlds most loved, most flown, most profitable airline. You will see these two concepts come to life. Watch this video and come back to this email.
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Note how the purpose is LIVED by the employees; note how their actions impact the family in the video. And here is the most important part: in the last 20 seconds, she says “that whole experience made him realize that people are going to be watching out for us, watching out for him, and just taking care of us overall.” Could a young family get a better message just before being separated by war for six months? Imagine the uncertainty and fear this family must be feeling at this moment. Southwest is only an airline and yet they’ve provided a mindset for a young family to survive the most traumatic thing they have ever endured. Because Southwest employees lived their purpose, they literally changed the lives of people in the most stressful situation they had ever faced.
THAT IS THE POWER OF PURPOSE.
How might this change your organization? What would happen if everyone in your organization knew, without ambiguity, why they get up every day and why your organization exists? What if they knew what the finish-line looked like? There is much that divides us in our world these days. Shared vision and purpose connect and sustain us through daily challenges.
Feel free to let me know your thoughts.
Stay well and lead on.
Mark
PS (You can watch the whole 13 minute video here for even more examples.)
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