The Sense Makers

A little behind our home is a forest which means we have furry visitors at odd times.

One of our visitors is a coyote called Trueman.  He is tough, dominant, wily and determined: ruthless, just like Truman Capote, a past leader of note or, rather, notoriety!  Trueman is very clear on his ‘why’; it’s to survive and clean up the neighbourhood.  That this includes well-loved pets is irrelevant to Trueman. His territory is a large dining room and its his job to keep it clean.

In a perverse way, Truman serving us well as his appetite keep the mice, squirrels and other rodents at a level of balance which lowers the damage these little critters wreck on our homes.

The little video clip is a helpful reminder to leaders that we should keep the reason for our business in sight – clearly and persistently. Simon Sinek challenges us to answer the “why” of our business and, like Truman, we need to see our business for the side of the customers. Look at different pictures – Truman sees one picture; one of good farming while we see him as a nuisance as best and dangerous at worst as our pets desapear.

Ask yourselves ‘who do we serve’ each day and make very sure that we ask our customers what they like about us. Feed this back to your teams and build the bridge between the Truman’s of the world and and your business family.

Like Truman who survives on change, so your teams will change to meet the customer needs once they understand them. That’s your job as CEO – translate the outside into a story the inside identifies with.