We had our first team meeting for the Teen Building Workshop this past Saturday. We had a great time getting to know each other and took some time looking at some of the living conditions of people that are in need of help. We also started on creating our Vision Statement by looking at companies, organizations, and people that succeed when they seem to be going against the grain of the normal approach to doing things. We used the Golden Circle approach to look at the differences in how these companies and people communicate compared to how we normally communicate. These companies and people speak to the “Why” they’re doing what they’re doing. It’s what they believe in, which reaches the parts of our brain that controls our behavior, loyalty, and decision making. As apposed to the way we normally communicate which speaks to the “What” we’re doing, and talks to the part of the brain that’s responsible for rational and analytical thought.

Why is Apple Computers so innovative year after year? It’s not WHAT they do. They make computers. Dell and HP make computers too.

It’s not HOW they do it.Their products are beautifully designed and easy to use. Other’s have beautifully designed and easy to use products.

It’s WHY they do it. “We believe in challenging the status quo and doing this differently”.

They tell us “Why” they’re doing what they’re doing. And it’s not just for us, it’s for themselves. They create a culture who’s bought into this purpose of challenging the status quo and doing it differently. And because they’ve bought into this purpose, they work at it thru blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. And because of their belief in their purpose, and they communicate that belief to us, we buy into it. Which is the reason we feel comfortable buying an MP3 player, or a Phone, or a TV from them, when they’re a computer company. Other computer companies have tried to sell products other then computers like PDAs or TVs and they’ve failed, even though they’re fully qualified to make these products. As a consumer we never bought into “Why” they were doing it.

A Vision Statement focuses on the future and the “Why” we’re doing what we’re doing. So this was a good spring board for jumping into creating our Vision Statement, which we’ll do at our next meeting.