I made a Star Wars marathon few days ago – tend to do that at least once in 2 years. Watching it made me realise something I had not seen before. The “Force” is forever present, visually non-existent and a great power which affects individual performance (read: life or death). It made me think what is the “Force” inside a business? What drives employees to have the passion of a “Jedi”?
Personal experience tell me it must be the VISION! But is that the “vision” written in the “About us” section or at the bottom of corporate websites (which probably nobody reads)? Or the “vision” featured in corporate promotional materials? Does that “vision” really have the power to make “Jedi employees”?
Naturally, I wouldn’t be making the parallel if that was the reality. I understood this at the moment of founding my (now non-existent) startup – my team identified themselves with the vision we wanted to be. It made getting up in the morning a happy activity, breakfast and lunch a waste of time and every pay check-unnecessary. The company vision came first!
Facing issues in the daily operations seemed to be just a bump along the road to where we had projected ourselves. We had a bonding relationship which nobody seemed to understand. But we did not care – our customers spoke it for us. Every contact made them feel the “Force” because they saw it in our actions. Once that happened, the sky was the limit.
Speaking in past tense means that we failed the “Force”. Or maybe it failed us? Writing this post has made me recognise its forever-present power. It has taken a new form and leads a new way to the sky! No matter what the next goal is, once you’ve been a “Jedi” and felt the “Force”, you never go into new battles without it!