Commitment

Commitment

WHAT IS COMMITMENT

"...the basic philosophy, spirit, and drive of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organizational structure, innovation, and timing. All these things weigh heavily in success. But they are, I think, transcended by how strongly the people in the organization believe in its basic precepts and how faithfully they carry them out."

Thomas J. Watson, Jr., IBM, former CEO

These words by Mr. Watson who had a storied career with IBM spanning four decades are profound and clearly state the importance of human resources in the success of any organization.  As a youngster, I caddied for a gentleman who once reported to Mr. Watson.  He espoused the same beliefs as the CEO.  It taught me a lesson back in the 60’s as to what some of the core fundamentals of building a successful enterprise would need. When an individual champions his company, he is building team commitment. It is indeed the willingness to go “above & beyond” in giving time and energy to your core values.  Our last blog talked about “walking the talk”.  You cannot do this if you do not have the commitment of your entire team.  You may have the greatest production facility on the planet and also more money than the top 10 fortunes in the world combined but without commitment you will ultimately fail.

Commitment is the fuel that initiates action. To commit is to pledge one’s self to certain core values. It also means working on and operating by your beliefs time after time. Possibly the best description of commitment is determination with a reason.

"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier."
- Roy E. Disney, Co-Founder of the Walt Disney Company

"You're only as good as the people you hire."
- Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald's

"High expectations are the key to everything."
- Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart

The above quotes from a sampling of famous business leaders in the past century speaks volumes as to how successful business people are hailed as visionary leaders. On careful examination they are found to be individuals who held firmly to a simple set of standards, usually grounded in values such as “the highest quality, highest customer service or best-qualified people”. It is the strength of these core values, consistently followed, that led to their business success.

When you are successful in creating a culture which is based on strong core values and fervently acted upon, you build a dedication that leads to total commitment.  By doing this you then have empowered your team to partner with you and realize goals that individually could not be attained.  You have made your organization very powerful and also expand the following:

·         A loyal team of employees who stay with you and continue to be part of the organization. [in a future blog we will talk about retention and the high cost of losing good people]

·         A focus on the long-term rather than short-term.

·         Productive, happy employees who are more focused on top quality.

How can we gain commitment?

1.      Listening to all levels within the organization.  “Using the two ears and one mouth” in appropriate ratio.  In other words, listening twice as much as talking!

2.      Remembering that there is no “I” in team.

3.      Initiating trust and building confidence on a continuous basis.  Trust is a two-way street.  As leaders learn to trust those around them, the organization’s conviction flourishes.

4.      Promoting diversity and building on a range of backgrounds including experience, education, training, qualifications etc…

5.      Creating an environment that that is both positive and blame-free

6.      Creating a sense of ownership within the organization at all levels of employment. Success of the company is the success of the team.

7.      Meaningful work and allowing employees to take pride in what they do.

Fortunately, paying the price that commitment commands has payoffs worth the cost – the rewards are endless!