What is a simple habit that a CEO can use for building a Winning Culture?

What is a 1FOR5 (1 Action to fulfil 5 Intentions) habit that a CEO can use for building a Winning Culture?

It's a Friday Note by the CEO to all employees.

It is such a simple, low effort habit for transforming your culture and yet, most CEOs miss it.

ExactTarget co-founder and former CEO, Scott Dorsey, is often credited for building one of the most powerful and enduring cultures of all time. It has endured even years after the company was acquired. His Friday Notes to all his employees has been his structure of success for building a winning culture.

This is Scott Dorsey in his own words - "In early 2009, I made the commitment to our team that they would hear from me every Friday rain or shine. The messages weren’t long, but they were robust communications about what was happening across the organization. I also tried to make the communication very personal so it was in my voice, and it covered where I was traveling, meetings I was holding, what I was thinking about, and it also became a platform to celebrate accomplishments and surface challenges. A few things happened that were remarkable. 

First, I never missed a Friday. I had a very strong marketing communication partner that held me accountable. Secondly, I made it very clear that I wanted to hear from the team. I made a commitment that I would respond to every email I received from an employee. 

Today at High Alpha and in my speaking engagements, I’ll often talk about the Friday Note, and it’s the number one piece of advice CEOs come back years later and thank me for. That consistent, open, and transparent communication drives culture and connectedness in a powerful way."

Why Friday Notes to your people is a 1FOR5 - 1 Action that fulfils 5 Intentions?

It is a tiny action that creates breakthrough results. Here's how it is a 1FOR5:

1. People feel more connected with the organisation's shared Purpose and shared Values: It's your way to communicate with and inspire your people with your Vision and have them feel connected with the Big Picture. It is your effortless access to shift your people from cutting stones to building a cathedral. You are the source of your organisation's Purpose and Values; which is the foundation of a strong, winning culture. Week on week, as you write to your people about the organisation's purpose, values and why it matters by sharing stories and examples from within your organization, it gets tattooed on the organisation's consciousness. 

2. Organisational alignment: Friday Notes help to keep the whole organization aligned on the organisational quarterly priorities and help people row the boat in the same direction increasing the speed at which your organisation scales. Your weekly email creates a sense of ownership of the shared Purpose, shared Values, shared Big Hairy Audacious Goal, shared Annual Goals and shared quarterly priorities.

3. It creates greater connection and engagement between your people: There's greater connection and engagement between your people if your people feel greater connection with you. As you scale your organization, a Friday Note becomes even more important because you no longer can stay in touch one-on-one with every one and yet, people want to hear your voice. Your voice matters. Whether you know it or not, people look up to you for inspiration, direction and guidance. A Friday Note is your way to have your people experience your presence, your voice, experience a connection with you, feel more engaged with you. As the engagement and connection with you strengthens through your Friday Notes, people will feel greater connection and engagement between each other as you are the glue. Your vision, your dream of the future you want to create holds your people together.

4. People feel inspired, positive and begin to travel their journey to be the best versions of themselves: Friday Notes become a teaching tool for you to make a difference to your people by coaching them and inspiring them weekly to be on their Good to Great Journey by sharing what's helping you become the greatest version of you, sharing your learnings from the books you are reading, your growth habits, learnings from your life, learnings from the industry conferences you are attending, people you are meeting. Your organization is your community and you have the power to transform this group of people in your care to become the greatest versions of themselves, week on week, through the power of your written word.

5. Friday Notes is an RYD Leadership Depth Habit to support you to raise your consciousness, week on week, all the way to Gear 5. 

Here's how:
i. Gear 1 - Agility of Mind - You will have to exercise great agility of mind to commit to writing the Weekly CEO Note and then stay committed to it week on week. You will necessarily have to step-up to 'I am extraordinary. I love myself.' to even feel worthy to write this note.

ii. Gear 2 - Being of Service - Weekly CEO Note is a great habit for you to step up to Being of Service consciousness. Only written from this consciousness of 'You are Extraordinary. I love you', will you be able to write content that would serve your people.

iii. Gear 3 - Communicating Powerfully in the World of Others

"Your ability to speak clearly is enhanced by reading (not listening) to books and by writing and journaling in complete sentences. Texting, voice dictation and audio books are wonderful but degrade articulation. Conversely, structured writing aids structured speech."
- Andrew D. Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology, Psychiatry and Behavioural
Sciences, Stanford

The weekly CEO note would support you to increase your ability to communicate powerfully in the world of others not only because the Friday Notes get you to practise structured writing week on week but also gets you to practise distinctions of Gear 3 - vulnerability, authenticity, relationship of equals, humility, generative language.

You also get to practise Gear 3 consciousness to strengthen yourself in Gear 3 - I am a channel of impact. I am making a difference. I trust the Universe. I trust the process of Life.

iv. Gear 4 - Delivering on your Word - No points on guessing how your Integrity muscle will get strengthened with the weekly habit of the Friday Notes. Rain or Shine, you email your Friday Note to your people. 

You also get to practise Gear 4 consciousness to strengthen yourself in Gear 4 - I am whole, complete and perfect as I am right now. You are whole, complete and perfect as you are right now. Life is whole, complete and perfect as it is right now. I believe in myself. I believe in you.

As you raise yourself to Gear 4 consciousness, your people experience themselves as extraordinary in your space which is the source of raising their productivity and effectiveness.

v. Gear - Excellence - You get to practise Gear 5 consciousness to strengthen yourself in Gear 5 - I love, accept and like myself as I am right now. I love, accept and like you as you are right now. I love, accept and like life as it is right now.

As you raise yourself to Gear 5 consciousness, your people experience each other as extraordinary in your space which is the source of organisational productivity and effectiveness.

In Gear 5, you will begin to experience the Power to Create™ organisational reality in alignment with your purpose, values and big hairy audacious goal.

What to write in the Friday Notes?

Here's a 7-section approach. Choose from here what resonates with you or change it in a way it does:

1. What's happening?

i. New product / feature launches
ii. Major policy changes
iii. Introducing new executive hires
iv. Changes / pivots to stated goals and strategies
v. Big wins and accomplishments

2. How we are doing?

This section is about an update on the organisation's Quarterly Priorities.

3. How we are living our values?

People Stories: Acknowledging people living the organization's shared values. What you focus on and share, grows.

4. What is the difference we are making in the world?

Customer Stories: As a result of our company being around, how are we improving someone's lives? A business exists to serve customers. Why does our work matter?

5. What are my Learnings and Insights this week that could inspire my people to become the greatest versions of themselves?

6. What is a question I want broad input on from my people?

7. Inviting inputs from your people to get a pulse of the organization: It could be as simple as - Please share your thoughts, questions and ideas to help us make a bigger difference to you and our customers.

This is one RYD habit that packs massive amount of growth together and is a gym for all the five gears of Leadesrhip Depth. Start your Friday Notes to grow yourself and your people.

Practise this habit for a quarter and come back to share what got created for you and your organisation.

Keep playing to joyously lead yourself and your business from good to great, realize your dreams and have it all with ease and grace; while having lots of fun and adventure along the way 💜

Loving you,
​j.