Tip Jar: Geese get it!

Welcome to the next Tip Jar installment as we see the year 2014 in our rear view mirror and look ahead through our windshield at 2015.

Economically, all things are looking pretty darn promising in the New Year (outside the issue of availability of some plant material) and this is a great time to kick off the year with strategic alignment within your company and your team.

Alignment is a word usually saved for work with a mechanic or with a chiropractor, but the alignment we are talking about is your business and the departments that serve the needs of your customer. Alignment with that “customer experience” we have been discussing over the last year…that “mission,” that “culture,” that “corporate compass” that ensures everyone in the organization is pointed in the same direction.

As humans, we are the most evolved species on the planet. We have put men on the moon, we have cured diseases which used to kill us, and I hold my entire life of music (and that is extensive) in a device that fits in the palm of my hand; however, somehow we have not mastered the ever-complicated aspect of alignment and teamwork.

Do you know who gets this? A species with a brain the size of a pea actually surpasses us humans in this elusive endeavor. You guessed it — geese! I was recently in Canada working with a great company – Sheridan Nurseries – which is celebrating more than 100 years of success in our industry. I paid close attention to the Canada geese as they migrated their way south to the U.S. for the winter. Geese have figured out that by flying in a “V” formation they improve their efficiency in flight by more than 70 percent. (Alignment)

Geese have determined that if one goose is putting in the extra hours flying into the wind, that maybe another should step up and take their place.

So they change positions in the formation making sure everyone does their fair share (Teamwork)

Geese have figured out that if you are having a bad day and need to take a break, one of them will follow you down to the ground and stay with you until you are “ready to fly.” You will never see just one goose flying alone. (Compassion)

Geese have figured out that if they all know the direction they are going, it makes the journey much more purposeful and enjoyable and far less stressful. (Intention)

With the values of alignment, teamwork, compassion and intention, how can you go wrong? Good question. Make sure you ask the next flock that lands at a pond near you and tell them John sent you.

When the silos of an organization are built, and the departments focus solely on the task at hand without seeing the bigger picture, the customer experience is diminished.

When an organization blends these departments into a seamless alignment of communicating expectations, delivering expectations, measuring expectations and celebrating successes, the customer experience is enhanced.

When an organization does not invest in this corporate alignment and only “hopes” that things will turn out well, it will see the customer experience as only one part of the puzzle and not the most important part of the puzzle.

I have created a six-step strategy that puts this alignment idea into focus.

(Visit my new START program for 2015 at www.johnkennedyconsulting.com.)

• Step One: Create a culture of ownership
• Step Two: Set standards
• Step Three: Deliver standards
• Step Four: Measure standards
• Step Five: Remove barriers
• Step Six: Drive consistency
   

Teamwork. Intention. Alignment. Compassion.

Four basic values to both invest in and build upon for your business, your team and your customer experience in 2015.

Geese get this. We should, too. Time to “take off,” eh?