Good Vibrations
Setting the vision mission and values for a business isn’t an easy task. I start to feel like I’m preaching when I start saying how I believe staff should think and feel and what their values should be – so I take my hat off to somebody like Peter Irvine who seems to be able to do just that but in a way that’s diplomatic. What Peter explains in this video I see as crucial for a business. It’s essential knowledge to be able to take control of the kind of ‘vibe’ your business has and to hiring the type of people who will keep that desired ‘vibe’ going and who you will look forward to working with every day of the week. It’s the difference between your business still being the kind of business you want to be involved in after you’ve hired staff member number 20 (or opened your 12th store). It’s the difference between when you, as the boss with the big personality, were the only one in the business, but now your just one of 50 can no longer set the culture for the business.
So what do you do at this point? Peter’s had plenty of time to work it out – and I love he’s ideas on this topic.
Vision, mission and values. Peter is completely unashamed in presenting these right up front to franchisees, staff and suppliers – with no apologies and with an approach that is anything but ‘softly softly’. For Peter they are not just a series of slogans hung on the wall of the hallway between the boardroom and the toilet, in the hope that the latest recruit will somehow absorb them in while popping out for lunch. The core business principles are put right in your face. Like it? Then join the business with confidence. Don’t agree? Then better to find out now than later.
And that’s half the solution right there!
From there Peter believes you can work as partners to build the business. That’s an art in itself, but most likely a bit easier now that it has already been established that everybody is on the same page. Better to risk offending people right up front than to waist time and effort trying to get along once they’re on board and heading in he wrong direction.