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very day, worldwide, meaningful
causes are trying harder than ever
to get noticed, to rise above the noise,
inspire change, motivate action, and
speak with one voice. Before that can
happen, you and your organization
have to clarify who you are and what
you do.
At Aespire, we call this the Clarity Process.
The underlying aspect of leadership people
are looking for, from and in organizations,
is clarity. People need to know who are you,
what do you do, why does it matter, and what
difference are you making?
When people engage this guided process
with us, they sometimes find that they
confirm what their cause is; other times the
process clarifies what their cause is; and it
causes some to realize that they didn’t have
a handle on what their cause is. Ultimately,
seeking clarity through this process helps
leaders discover their values.
Many of us struggle as did this potential
client. He said, “I know what my values are,
I just can’t get them out of my head.” The
Clarity Process helps you get those values out
of your head and onto paper so that you can
start to plan for them and act on them.That’s
how those values must be operating—not
just on a piece of paper or a wall somewhere.
Values are real when they show up in your
character. When behavior is consistent and
engaged in by others, it becomes culture.
After we have clarified the big picture,we have
to continue by seeking clarity in what we do.
I walk through a basic planning process with
one of my staff, and I say, “Here’s the end, but
we need to know the client’s objectives, so we
need to begin with the end in mind.” That’s
totally Stephen Covey: begin with the end,
and then look at the interim objectives that
we need to meet.
Clarity regarding our actions causes us to ask,
“What do we need to start today in order to
meet objective one? What do we need to start
tomorrow to meet objective two? Three days
from now, to meet objective three?” When
those three objectives are met, they all come
together to meet the main objective.
A lot of people just say, “Well, we’re going to
do this, so you do this and you do this and
we’ll hope it comes together at some point.”
They’re thinking tactically, not strategically.
They’re thinking about the things they can do
without thinking what the end is going to be.
That comes down to vision: what do we want
it look like at the end of the day?
We must be mindful as we are seeking
clarity in our cause, values, and vision that
we don’t fail to remember clarity in our
communication. When you think
about most conflict, most failure—
where’s the biggest breakdown
that occurs? It’s communication.
Communication is always the internal
gap between leadership and team,
between organization and the public.
Communication is the voice. But if you don’t
know what your values are, what you stand
for, or what your cause is, and it’s not clear
enough to you, then your voice is muted!
You’re not going to be able to communicate
with clarity.What we say must echo what we
believe and what we do!
If we know strategically that our vision is this,
then we have to ask: are the activities we are
pursuing consistent with this? Are they going
to lead us along the path that we need to get
to the destination we all know? If not, then
we need to clarify!
Brian Sooy
is the founder and design director of
Aespire
®
, a design and marketing communications
agency working with nonprofits, foundations, and
other meaningful causes. He advises professionals
and leaders from mission-driven organizations on
positioning, marketing, and communications principles
to help connect their purpose and mission with their
audience. Brian serves on the board of directors and
executive committee of Second Harvest Food Bank of
North Central Ohio as a volunteer. His new book,
Raise
Your Voice
.
Clarifying Your Cause Will
Shape Your Manifesto
Brian Sooy
Strategy
Clarity Process
Who are you?
What do you do?
Why does it matter?
What difference are you making?