Startup Story Coach I Business Storytelling Trainer I Helping leaders multiply their success in sales, fundraising and team-building I Backpacked through LatAm once I Bylines in Mint & Forbes I #StoriesbySachin
Get your team to turn vision into action Last October I took charge as the President of my BNI (Business Networking International) chapter called BNI Maharaja. I was partnered by two amazing gentlemen, Pradeep Jatewadkar as the VP and Gokul Ashok as the Secretary-Treasurer. But all three of us were relatively new members who were handed important responsibilities. We were riddled with questions on how to play our roles, how to steer a group that had senior members & most importantly how to make a significant contribution. By the end of our six-month term in March 2024 - we had added five new members to our chapter. The chapter scored well on all parameters, including participation and engagement. Many chapter members & leaders from other similar chapters wanted to learn from us. How did three newbies manage to deliver good results in what is essentially a team effort? We articulated a clear and crystallised vision. Our vision was to achieve growth (add new members), increase diversity (bring in women entrepreneurs as members), and engagement (increase participation in social activities that go beyond business). While as the leading team, it was easy for us to remember these nuances, we needed a war-cry. And the most important goal of all was to reach the number 51 as that would have earned our chapter the ‘Platinum’ distinction. So we wanted everyone to remember this mission. That’s how the term ‘Mission 51’ was born. At every given opportunity I delivered quick notes about our mission. Our term opened with a short keynote from me about ‘Mission 51’. We also conducted monthly reviews and delivered a half-term update in front of the chapter. All chapter members not only remembered but reminded others of the mission. The leadership team got to be known as the ‘Mission 51’ guys. But most importantly, our members managed to add seven new members to the chapter. While we did not hit the 51 number, we got close to it. It does seem that in the next few months, we would be a 51-member strong chapter. So the vision was ours, but our team delivered. So, create catchphrases that communicate a clear and crystallised version of your vision. ‘Mission 51’ defined our leadership and helped our chapter rally around this one BIG goal. We communicated it regularly in the most interesting ways, but the catchphrase made it easy for people to remember what they had to do. How do you come up with a catchphrase? Not all catchphrases are equal. Some express an emotion, others remind us of a goal. Yet others, share what you or your brand stands for. The idea is to get to the core idea or action and turn that into your catchphrase. In our case, it was achieving the goal of being a 51-strong chapter. In other cases, it could be ‘Yes, we can’ (Barack Obama’s campaign slogan), or ‘Good begets good’ (Cred’s brand tagline). If you need help with communicating your vision in a way that incites action from your team - get in touch with me. My DM's are open.
