About the speaker: Patrick Lencioni is the Founder and President of The Table Group and the bestselling author of ten business books with
nearly three million copies sold, including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else. The Table Group advises clients with ideas, products and services to improve teamwork, clarity, employee engagement and overall organizational health
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else
“Organizational health is the single greatest advantage to any organization today. But too many leaders think it is beneath them, not measurable enough, not complex enough.”
According to Patrick, there are two requirements for organizational success:
1. Smart: good at strategy, finance, marketing, etc. All the things you read about in business magazines.
“This is important but it is only half the equation. Leaders spend 98% of their time on this.”
2. Healthy: minimal politics and confusion, high morale, high productivity and low turnover.
“We are more comfortable with those things that are easier to measure and less emotional, but to change organizations you have to make them healthier.”
“Southwest is fabulous but not because they are smarter than their competitors. Southwest is great because they are so healthy as an organization.”
How do we make organizations healthy? (These are simple but not easy.)
1. Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team at the top.
2. Create clarity. (primary focus for the presentation)
“A mission statement is not a good way to create clarity. Answer these six critical questions: Why do we exist? How do we behave? What do we do? How will we succeed? What is most important in our organization right now? Who must do what?”
“When you know your reason for existing, it should inform decisions.”
“A core value is something you’re willing to get punished for.”
“Know your key strategic anchors for decision making.”
3. Over-communicate clarity.
4. Reinforce clarity.
