I was on the road in California last week. My mission was to
visit some dynamic thinkers and schools that were re-imagining education for
our young people. My colleague insisted we eat at In-N-Out Burger and that the
experience would be worthwhile. Admittedly I was not too keen. Fast food after
all, is fast food. Surprisingly, the taste was fresher, the service friendlier
and the restaurant cleaner. The menu was not complicated (basically three
choices), nor was the décor (red, white and yellow). This got me wondering why.
I had to find out the story behind the success of this family owned business.
Harry Snyder, founder of In-N-Out Burger had a very simple
plan: “Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and
provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment.” This is
what his business has done for over 60 years, and now they have over 250 stores
across the western United States.
Think Jobs and Apple - ‘Make a dent in the Universe’, or
Walt Disney - ‘Make people happy’. Or even IBM’s ‘Think’. Simple, clear, easily
remembered, understood and acted on.
Once people understand your core purpose (who you are), and
you communicate this clearly, you can make decisions quicker and with more
ease. Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines until 2008 said, “I can teach you the
secret to running this airline in thirty seconds. This is it: We are the low-fare airline. Once you
understand that fact, you can make any decision about this company’s future as
well as I can.”
Keeping the message simple makes it
1.
Easier to communicate.
2.
Easier to remember.
3.
Easier to understand.
Having ‘laser like focus’ ensures the team or institution
remains committed to the cause. This doesn’t mean being closed to new ideas or
approaches. It means being committed to the fundamental roots of who you are.
“Simple ideas,” said Blake Mycoskie of TOMS, “are also easily adaptable to
changing times – and sometimes they never have to be adapted at all.”
Furthermore, knowing the ‘why’ of your institution’s
existence taps into the needs of your people and customers. It builds trust,
motivates and inspires. Simon Sinek writes that, “We live in times of high stress.
Messages that are simple, messages that are inspiring, messages that are life-affirming
are a welcome break from our real lives.”
One afternoon while working for a well-known brand, I walked
the open plan office asking people to tell me what they thought our purpose was.
I asked, “Who are we and what do we stand for?” Of all the answers I received
no two were the same. This indicated a real issue. If the people did not know
who we were and what we stood for, how could they serve the needs of the
customer? How could they make decisions for the good of the company? How could
leadership be devolved?
Communicating your purpose is key to success. It has to be
done clearly and consistently. Yes, coffee cups, mouse pads and posters are
fun, but when it comes from the leader, is intentionally lived by the leader
and decisions are obviously made with the core purpose in mind, the message
gets through loud and clear. Simplicity of purpose is crucial to progress. Imagine
if our schools had laser-like focus on improving teaching and learning. Simple.
Any decision that needs to be made
whether it be buildings, budget, students or faculty, gets put through the lens
of - “Does it improve teaching and learning?” Decisions are quicker and more
transparent and results are more potent.
And one final
point, researchers Patrick Spenner and Karen Freeman recently found that a
customer’s biggest reason to stick with a brand was “decision simplicity”. This
is “the ease with which consumers can gather trustworthy information about a
product and confidently and efficiently weigh their purchase options”.
Simplicity of message is important. Think simple, keep it
simple and communicate it through words and actions. And, next time you’re in the western States
of America grab a burger from In-N-Out Burger. You may be inspired!
By Peter Dry 2015
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