The CEO had spent 6 months working on a new vision. He was excited to share the results of his efforts.

The employees would get to share in his enthusiasm. The stage was set, music was pumping, company-colored balloons flanked the podium. 200 curious faces looked on.

“Today I’m thrilled to announce our new vision for the future.” As he pulled back a curtain to reveal the following words. “We’re going to become the biggest logistics company in the region and within 5 years reach revenues of $200m.”

“Oh yeah!” shouted the CEO looking out at his team.

Their response?

A polite applause.

They didn’t care. Not one bit.

Nobody does. Nobody cares about the size of your company. Nobody cares how much money YOU’RE going to make.

To an employee, a big company means less personality and more work. To a customer, it can feel less personal, poorer service.

This wasn’t a vision. It wasn’t inspiration. This was just cold, uninspiring information.

More damage was done that day than the CEO realized, because the team were now clear on what the priorities were. And it wasn’t them. It was him and his needs.

Until your message and actions reflect ALL your stakeholders, you’re losing. And you may not realize until it’s too late.

—

Barry Chandler is the co-founder of Storyforge, a strategy company focused on helping companies discover their purpose, forging their unique story, building preference and driving margin.

Barry has been building award winning businesses since launching his first company in Ireland in 2003. His last company, a digital marketing agency, was acquired in 2012 by a California-based publicly traded entertainment company which then hired him as Chief Marketing Officer. It is his belief that the greatest brands seek to change the world, improving the lives of their associates, partners, and customers.