What makes people go thru walls?
Have you ever wondered why certain companies have extremely loyal band of employees and some do not? I am not talking of people who continue to work in an environment due to sheer inertia and the inherent human inclination to avoid a change. I am talking about those set of people who work with maniacal ferocity towards a vision often against large or at least better place competitors. What makes them drink the “Kool Aid”? What gets them the mantra?
What is that the leaders of these companies do? Without exception, these employees consider their leaders to be charismatic. What is charisma? And how does one achieve it? Is it purely a personality thing?
Sometime back, I was doing some research on what makes organizations last very long. Most companies die out before reaching double digits of age. I think it is worthwhile to study the parallels in how these employees behave with some very long standing organizations. The three longest standing organizations that I can think of are (i) the army (ii) the church and (ii) universities. Their longevity has run from 200 to 2000 years. Only half a dozen of corporate organizations can come close to even 200 years of age.
I will take a parallel from the army to explain the loyalty of employees. Why would any logical-minded soldier rush up a hill under heavy machine fire with incredible personal peril? Similarly, why would anybody not revoke their religious beliefs even under the severest torture? Why do employees work for a small company where the odds are against its survival?
There are three conditions that need to come together for the above to happen.
(*) A soldier needs to have tremendous belief in the commander that he is asking them to charge the right hill.
(*) A soldier needs to believe that, with enough sacrifice, the hill can be conquered.
(*) A soldier needs to believe that they have the “moral” right to win the hill.
Thus in companies where you see the maniacally loyal employees working towards a “great cause” invariably have the following things...
(*) The leader has painted a great vision – a vision that surpasses Wall Street expectation of mere fiscal pressures – a vision that shows why the world will be a far better place to live in – a world you would like to leave for your children if you achieve your vision. The leader exudes confidence in explaining to the employees why that is the “right” hill to charge up.
(*) The leader has impressed upon the employees that the only difference between the winner and the losers is execution. It is hard work. It is a success that is built upon a lot of sacrifice from the employees and their families. The leader acknowledges the sacrifice and thanks them for that. But also maintains that there is no short cut to success. Is quick to articulate why he believes he has the best “soldiers” too. What makes his employees different from other employees?
(*) The leader impresses upon his employees why it is their moral right to win the war. How they have the best vision. How the world is served best with their view of world order. How they focus on the right things which supersede small elements of focus like quarterly profits which is the sole focus of the competitors. How the competitors are busy make money for themselves while they want to make money for their customers.
That is the essence of what I have concluded…
Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this. Or what your experience has been.
What is that the leaders of these companies do? Without exception, these employees consider their leaders to be charismatic. What is charisma? And how does one achieve it? Is it purely a personality thing?
Sometime back, I was doing some research on what makes organizations last very long. Most companies die out before reaching double digits of age. I think it is worthwhile to study the parallels in how these employees behave with some very long standing organizations. The three longest standing organizations that I can think of are (i) the army (ii) the church and (ii) universities. Their longevity has run from 200 to 2000 years. Only half a dozen of corporate organizations can come close to even 200 years of age.
I will take a parallel from the army to explain the loyalty of employees. Why would any logical-minded soldier rush up a hill under heavy machine fire with incredible personal peril? Similarly, why would anybody not revoke their religious beliefs even under the severest torture? Why do employees work for a small company where the odds are against its survival?
There are three conditions that need to come together for the above to happen.
(*) A soldier needs to have tremendous belief in the commander that he is asking them to charge the right hill.
(*) A soldier needs to believe that, with enough sacrifice, the hill can be conquered.
(*) A soldier needs to believe that they have the “moral” right to win the hill.
Thus in companies where you see the maniacally loyal employees working towards a “great cause” invariably have the following things...
(*) The leader has painted a great vision – a vision that surpasses Wall Street expectation of mere fiscal pressures – a vision that shows why the world will be a far better place to live in – a world you would like to leave for your children if you achieve your vision. The leader exudes confidence in explaining to the employees why that is the “right” hill to charge up.
(*) The leader has impressed upon the employees that the only difference between the winner and the losers is execution. It is hard work. It is a success that is built upon a lot of sacrifice from the employees and their families. The leader acknowledges the sacrifice and thanks them for that. But also maintains that there is no short cut to success. Is quick to articulate why he believes he has the best “soldiers” too. What makes his employees different from other employees?
(*) The leader impresses upon his employees why it is their moral right to win the war. How they have the best vision. How the world is served best with their view of world order. How they focus on the right things which supersede small elements of focus like quarterly profits which is the sole focus of the competitors. How the competitors are busy make money for themselves while they want to make money for their customers.
That is the essence of what I have concluded…
Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this. Or what your experience has been.
posted by Rajib Roy | 9:27 AM
5 Comments:
There is yet something else that must be present at least in small doses. Success. There must be some tangible evidence (even if it is small) that the efforts of the employees are having an impact. Would you agree that even the best leaders have a hard time making their message heard in the continual absence of success?
Why does a Marine rush up a hill against all odds? For none of the reasons you mention. Nobody thinks about these things and decides. You have over analyzed it. You do it because your brother depends on you doing your part, and you will not let your brother down. The role of the leader is to create the brothership.
The soldier rushes up the hill because, if he does not obey the command, he will be court-martialed :)
Its one word - 'Desire'.
Desire for power.
Desire for position.
Desire for recognition.
Desire for money.
As long as their underlying core desires are met they continue to be Royal and leave when its no longer met.
It's very easy to explain why organizations can't achieve the loyalty and dedication of churches and the army. First, if you are a dedicated member of the church or army, you are never thrown out; in companies, you can be fired or laid off due to cut-backs, which would doesn't occur in the church or army. Secondly, when you win the war or are a good churchgoer, the rewards are great and the same for all, freedom or heaven for you and your entire family. In most corporations, the rewards of the win are disproportionately or completely given to those in power. One of the things that amazes me is that, as I've become privey to upper-level compensation information while moving over my career, I've found that those in higher levels reward themselves much more than the average worker even is aware of, and there is tremendous effort spent in hiding this information from the lower ranks. The win for the average employee is simply that you are allowed to continue to come to work...maybe. Whereas, in the church, everyone will be "guaranteed" an equal seat at the table with God. And by fighting the war, my family will gain as much freedom as the General's family. The problem is that organizations today are less loyal to their employees than they've ever been - thus the reason employees are less loyal. If you want more dedicated employees, this has to change as well. I agree with most of the other points you make, but you can't ever expect to have similar loyalty as the organizations you compare are very different. An interesting twist, however, is that those who question the existence of God might suggest that the Church *did* create the most powerful Cool-Aid in existence and the kings, queens, and leaders of the churches were/are, in fact, the only benefactors of the loyalty and sacrifices of the masses. It's unfortunate that, in most cases, the cool-aid that companies are trying to create in their "employee benefits" and other programs is false cool-aid designed to mask the pyramid underneath.
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