🔦There’s a lot of focus on mantras lately…🔦

They have threads of woo, magic and mindfulness in them….
They remind employees of the company’s role and guide their decisions, including—most importantly—what they are not.

𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧 – Ritz Carlton
Horst Schulze wrote this as part of an essay at age 16 and explains it as “If we are doing an excellent job, a first-class job, we are respected by the employee, and we define ourselves by being excellent as ladies and gentlemen.” And with that motto, I started Ritz-Carlton, and I said right from the beginning, you’re not servants. Day one I said, “We are not servants. We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Unless we sentence ourselves to be less, to be servants. That’s in our hands.” (As reported in Chief Executive)

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 – Apple
A tagline or slogan outside Apple, but inside Apple, a powerful mantra that set the stage for a culture that created new market space, generated new demand and made Apple one of the most admired and valuable brands today.

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 – Zappos
As with Apple, Zappos’s mantra drives meaning and value to customers and employees, capturing the importance of service. Employees have a clear understanding of the strategy and their direct or indirect impact on the overall customer experience.

⚠️But here’s the problem with a mantra.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.⚠️

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝. Employees must understand how their role directly or indirectly impacts the customer and the business.

Leaders must embrace the mantra’s true spirit and inspire employees to live by its decisions and actions.

Your mantra 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎. 𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎 𝐈𝐓. That’s when people get on board.

𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤.