The Power of Alignment

Oh no, it's only June and I'm about to throw out a football reference...

Maybe I'll pretend I'm talking about the CFL, ya, that's right..

Anyway.. in the huddle, it is the job of the quarterback to direct the routes that each of his (or her) receivers will run on the upcoming play. This way, when the quarterback goes to throw the ball, he will know where each person should be on the field. Even in the case of the run and shoot offence, at least the quarterback knows that each receiver will be running based on the situation they are presented with, following no predetermined patterns.

What's my point? Well, today, I called one of our suppliers to discuss a new service they were offering. How did I know about this magical new suite of offerings? Via email. So, to learn more, I simply called the number provided, and enquired about the new services.

What's the problem? Well, the person on the other end of the phone HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!! They had never seen the email, and had no idea their OWN company had added these new services!!!

I guess that my point is, after reading yet another brilliant book, Unstuck, everyone should understand your organization (for the most part) from top to bottom. Everyone who works for you is a keeper of the brand, the message, the level of perfection. It is everyone's job to know. Great companies celebrate new products and services. Great companies empower every employee to be a steward of the brand. Good companies ensure that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing...

Go long...