What percentage of your employees are committed and highly engaged to the success of your organization?
100%? 90%? 75%? 50%? 25%? 10%?
Most answer around the 50% mark. Additionally, we often think that we can grow that percentage with some effort at making a change in our operations, or a bit more communication. (In one workshop, after asking for a show of hands at different percentages, I had a gentleman claim 100% of his employees were committed. “Are you a company of one?” I asked. “No, there’s two of us,” he replied pointing to his brother in the next chair. I observed to much laughter, “But he didn’t raise his hand!“)
Unfortunately, reality is far worse. Organizational change efforts acknowledge that 65-85% of all change efforts fail. That’s abysmal results!
According to a Harris poll of 23,000 employees, less than half know the company goals…and it gets worse.
In his book Using the Power of Purpose, Dean Tucker relates the poll results to a football team. As your offense faces your competition playing defense, you only have four employees who know they’re supposed to move the ball to the end zone they’re looking at. Only two know what position to play, only two care and only two think you can win. 9 out of the 11 would just as soon as root for the other team as much as they root for their own.
From my perspective, the only good news is that your competition has the same problem.
If you get more than 4 employees to know how to win the game, and care about it, believe they can win and actually cheer on your team, you have an advantage. If you’ve got six or eight, you’ll bowl over the competition!
I can show what the other experts overlook and why their results are horrible.
What I can show you is how to create the culture, collaboration and ownership thinking inside your company to overwhelm your competition. Together we’ll discover the opportunities and uncover the obstacles. It’ll be hard work, and it’ll take some time…but it’s worth it when you’re winning! And better yet, it’ll be fun!
