…today’s secret…Fighting Santa Claus (question #1).

Everyone acts differently between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than they do between New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Those 30 plus days become the ‘tyranny of the urgent’ …a flashflood of circumstances and obligations that seems to suck up every minute of every day.

Long ago I stopped fighting Santa Claus and use the month of December to personally turn inward and double-check my irreversible past and possible future. It’s a gut-wrenching time for me each year.

Over the next three Tuesdays I’m asking you to ponder three questions about your helping the marginalized become unmarginalized. Answering these three questions might shed some internal light on what your running to, running from, and maybe why.

Today’s question #1…“What is the purpose of your organization?”

If you haven’t noticed, we are living in one of those rare turning points in human history that pop up from time to time. How life is lived hangs in the balance.

An institution that is rattling in its death bed is the Industrial Age command-and-control organization – a hierarchical pyramid of names on a sheet of paper. Decision makers on top. Followers on bottom. The mission statement is packed full of greeting card clichés hoping for something like world peace.

The ideal organization of the future is struggling to be birthed. It is one built around a shared purpose that binds people together in a worthy pursuit. This shared purpose is a simple statement that everyone in the organization knows. It’s embedded in their hearts and minds, and, is what gets them up each morning to do what they do.

Unfortunately, its birthing is happening at glacial speed.

In this ideal organization no one is in charge, but everyone is partly in charge. Things get done by people modifying their behavior to mutually adjust to others in such a way to advance the shared purpose of the organization.

Can you identify the purpose of your organization in seven words? Eight? Ten? Can everyone in your organization repeat them? Do you ask people wanting to join your organization if they can get behind your purpose?

If your answers are no, start by asking yourself this question…”What is it that you want to make happen?” Then go from there…

Right Time’s shared purpose is seven words, thirteen if you want the details.

I’ll be glad to talk about them if you wish. Just reply.

Next Tuesday is question #2…