In a Chicago suburb in 1982, a few people were mysteriously affected by cyanide poisoning. Some died. The cause was traced to some bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol. The CEO of Johnson and Johnson, the manufacturer of Tylenol, faced a huge crisis. Despite the high probability that Tylenol bottles had been tampered with in only one locality, J&J recalled all Tylenol and urged all customers to return any Tylenol they had. With little explicit direction from the CEO, J&J employees pitched in to expeditiously remove Tylenol from store shelves.
What accounted for this behavior? Why would the employees so willing do this? Michael Useem, in The Leadership Moment, suggests the mission and values of Johnson and Johnson were so well known by its employees it was natural. One key sentence of their mission statement reads, “We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services.” The result was that after J&J redesigned the product with tamper proof packaging they regained 80% of their market within a year.
What can we learn? Clearly knowing our goal and our values is critical for success. Furthermore, the goal and values must be clear to those we are leading. If this isn’t done, dissension results when tough decisions are made in a crisis. Without common values and a clear understanding of the goal, the whole organization won’t be thinking clearly or in unity. Change is made easier when everyone understands where the change is leading (the goal) and why that change is necessary (the values).
Churches are notorious for disagreements and splits. Might this be because the members of the church did not have a unified, clear goal, or a fully understood set of shared values?
What makes a successful mission statement in business verse a church setting? Running a small business myself, I agree completely with the statement that we must have a clear direction. My team and I need to echo the same values or when the ship starts sinking I will be left alone!
This has been achieved in our company by including the employees in the goal setting process so that they have partial ownership rather than putting it up on a plaque in the main entry way. I’m not sure that works in a company the size of J&J or even at a church, but the point is that involving people in the process is a great way to ensure your crew won’t jump ship when the going gets tough.
Vision and goals guide the train to the station. They are the rails and it takes both to work. Often churches either never lay tracks and wonder why nothing moves or they lay new tracks every two weeks and soon have a mess. The congregation gets frustrated (rightly so) and begin focusing on themselves and less on God. Not good! This leads to unrealistic expectations and confusion allowing sides to be taken over minor issues. When people are focused on God they complain less. I am happier, give more grace and complain less when I’m focused on God.
For another time. The power of crisis.
What do you think of the book?