Want to get Discretionary Effort from Your Team? Try Leveraging your Just Cause
Does your company have a 'just cause'? The larger need, beyond the immediate provision of the product, that your business leadership aims to fulfil. A 'just cause' provides a context for all the decisions you'll make and inspires people to give “discretionary effort” and make sacrifices because they believe in the cause.
The 1 to 5 of a Just Cause
Bestselling author Simon Sinek defines a 'just cause' as a vision of an ideal future state that inspires people. Your executive team's 'just cause' must paint a clear picture that others can see. A "promise to improve the world" is vague and lacks substance. According to Sinek, a 'just cause' has five elements:
1. Stand FOR something, not against something
Working against something implies fighting with fear and anger, constrained within the realm of whatever you're fighting. Working against something ties us to the fate of the very thing we try to eliminate. In contrast, working FOR a cause implies hope, optimism and creation.
2. A 'just cause' is idealistic
According to Sinek, the Declaration of Independence is a great example of idealism. Laws and interpretations around civil liberties have changed with the times. It's a mission that's never fully accomplished. The cause inspires people to work towards it in ever-changing ways, like a mighty carrot not a stick.
3. A 'just cause' is inclusive
Everybody wants to belong. In his book "Zero to One", entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal) advises you to highlight your unique mission over superficial perks. You must offer a sense of purpose and belonging to recruit talent to your company over your competitors. Talk about why your mission is unique and compelling. Make them feel they'd fit in and enjoy working with their teammates.
4. A 'just cause' is resilient
A 'just cause' endures in all business, political and technological realities. Building your company around a specific product will make any future prospects limited. Do you provide transport services, or do you sell train tickets? Are you a music distributor, or do you sell CDs? Your cause should be aimed at bettering lives, not simply completing a task.
5. A 'just cause' is service oriented
Every company or effort involves both givers and receivers — people who contribute money, effort and time and people who benefit from it (customers, other citizens and the wider world). When a 'just cause' is service-oriented, the primary benefits of an organisation's efforts go to people rather than the contributors themselves.
Resilience management experts Jim Collins & Jerry Porras describe in their book "Built to Last" that lasting companies have two sides to their vision statements: a core principle and a practical one. A core principle of "educating the youth" can be compatible with practical directions such as "offering video tutoring" or developing "learning apps."
Visage Growth Partner’s ‘just cause’ in action. You’re part of it!!
Having a 'just cause' is crucial for the long-term success of any business as it helps in providing direction, purpose, and motivation to team members and customers, thereby creating a positive impact on society.
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