“Sigh,
Let’s be blunt.
I’m a little distracted.
What do you want?
Headaches and bad faith
Are all that I’ve got.
First, I misplaced the ending
Then I lost the plot.”
Song Lyrics, Lost the Plot by the NewsBoys
Fog of War lesson #1 focused on cutting through the fog with your TEAM. This week’s fog-cutting tool is creating a focused THEME. According to The Oxford Language Dictionary, THEME is an idea that occurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.
2020 has erased the stories we were working on in February. We have lost the plot. We must create and communicate an idea (THEME) that will pervade our work in the SMB space. A team’s pandemic paralysis (FOG) needs to be cut through by strong leadership. Business owners, help your employees see what needs to happen next. Guide your team how everyone can and should contribute to breaking out of the fog.
This is so much more than a “Mission Statement” on a plaque at the office. Humans need that higher calling, or a big why, to do their best work. At XM Performance we are driven by this question: What if small/medium businesses were the best places to work in America? A great workplace should look something like this:
- Profitable growth
- Highly engaged teammates
- Low turnover
- Legacy impact on their employees/market/community
- Owner(s) and leaders with balanced lives
How can we guide XtraMilers to build this kind of company? We build that THEME into every engagement with our prospects, clients, employees, and contractors.
What is your THEME? Break it down into clear, concise, and compelling language that every leader can repeat. The repetition of big ideas should pervade your operation: from interviewing, to onboarding, to weekly meetings, to the systems/processes that run the day-to-day.
Thick fog and no THEME will leave you in the slow lane. Lead forward to the XtraMile, contact us for our THEME inspiring reading list.