Performance Is Everything

3Building a Compelling Vision¹

“Are we welding girders or building a bridge to an inspiring destination?”

—August Aquila

As mentioned in chapter 2, “Superior Performance Comes From Alignment,” FranklinCovey conducted a survey with Harris Polling and found that only 19 percent of employees are passionate about their organization’s most important goals. Worse, only 15 percent of employees actually knew the goals. We agree with the principle, “No involvement, no commitment,” and trust that the more owners are engaged with developing and buying into the firm’s vision and goals, the more they are likely to perform against the goals.

People must also believe they can grow, be involved in meaningful work, and play a part in making the firm’s mission and vision a reality. Nearly all firms with which we’ve worked include owners who agree with the sentiment but find it hard to engage fellow owners, much less other associates. So, this chapter discusses how firm leaders can engage fellow owners and employees in a common vision and ensure they remain engaged.

Where do you start? First, a single leader or small team of committed and engaged leaders seek to understand the desires of all owners from what Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, calls the whole person paradigm. When they do so, they tap into or engage team members’ bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits. Key questions that tap into the whole person help you determine others’ financial and physical ...