Getting Your People to Step Up

CHAPTER 1PEOPLE NEED SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN: Creating a shared vision

I love working with businesses. I love the journey of walking into a business that isn't performing very well, finding the gaps in the way they operate and finding ways to close those gaps. These gaps are where the opportunities lie. Each time, I ask myself, ‘How can I fix this business, help its people in the process and make it more profitable?’

I have taken several businesses that were underperforming and, through the work I do with my clients, fixed them up so they generate more profit.

I call this process ‘creating a shared vision’.

In order for a shared vision to work, we need two things:

1. We need to be clear what the vision is.
2. We need our people to be able to see it so they can help us reach that vision.

Our people need a vision to believe in. Why? Because people want and need something to believe in.

As a personal example, I like to renovate properties — and to be successful when renovating, I try and create a clear vision of the outcome. I also need the contractors I hire (my people) to see what I am seeing. I do this by creating a Pinterest board with images of the end product I envision after the renovation, and I share this Pinterest board with the contractors for each project.

A property that is rundown and needs work aesthetically is my ideal property. The three changes I usually make are adding a new kitchen, painting inside and out, and redoing the floors or windows as these improvements ...