Notes from the Talk

Organizational leadership is not complicated, but it is not easy. As organizations grow, they become more complex. Complexity is the enemy of clarity. Clarity fuels effectiveness and efficiency.

People want certainty. We can’t provide that. But the next best thing to certainty is clarity.

Everyone in your organization should know the answers to these three questions:

1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. Where do I fit in?

What are we doing?

• “We” is what makes “me” critical to the success of the organization.
• A clear, compelling mission statement can bring simplicity to complexity.
• It’s better for a mission statement to be memorable and portable, even if it is incomplete.
• If you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, you’re going to have a hard time doing it.

Why are we doing it?

• This is how you answer what’s at stake if your organization goes away.
• Once upon a time, your organization did not exist. Someone had an idea and thought it was worth taking a risk. Why?

Everyone in your organization should answer the first two questions the same way. The third question focuses on personal organization responsibility.

Where do I fit in?

• How does what you do contribute to what we do?
• Create one-sentence responsibility descriptions for you and your direct reports.
• A one-sentence responsibility description provides clarity around what a person’s essential responsibility is and what is expected of them.
• Each person in your organization should feel the weight of their responsibility.
• When you provide this kind of clarity, you are saying, “I trust you with this responsibility,” and you find out who is responsible.

Growth creates complexity, which requires simplicity.

Clarity around the mission and personal responsibility is the oil in the machine. It decreases friction and frees the individual parts to work at their highest efficiency.