5. Benchmark

Quinn made a call to his friend the dean of the Kepper Business School. Doug Holiday was waiting for them at the main entrance of the school. This was Alex’s old stomping grounds—back when he could stomp.

“Welcome back, Alex. Call me ‘Doc’; everyone does. Come into the office.” He led them to a room where an ancient desk complemented the modern space. Alex admired it.

Doc said, “It belonged to Thomas Mellon, who started a bank here in town. I keep looking through the drawers,” he said, demonstrating by pulling out a hidden cubbyhole drawer, “looking for old stock certificates.”

Quinn grinned and pointed out to Alex a framed star on Doc’s wall.

Doc looked up at the star too. “Quinn claims we have done a decent job of gaining commitment to a Greater Goal—”

Quinn interrupted, “In spite of knowing every theory of strategy, change management, and leadership ever devised.”

Quinn opened his notebook and sketched the star again. “As I said on the phone, we’re here to look at the first practice of the Star Model. Alex is on a venture through all five practices.” Quinn wrote “Commit to the Greater Goal” at the top of the star. “Alex wants to know how you set and gain shared commitment to the school’s Greater Goal.”

Commit to the Greater Goal

Doc stood and looked at Alex. “I envy you—learning this model for the first time.”

Doc moved to sit on the edge of his massive desk. “Our ‘company,’ a business school, is a strange animal. It’s a real business for sure, but it’s one that has lots of mini businesses and many divergent goals. Singular alignment is a challenge.”

Alex spotted another object over Doc’s head. It was a framed business journal article cover.

The frame also held a picture of a visibly happy team.

“Well, you must have made some progress,” remarked Alex, pointing out the article.

“We did, all of us together. Here’s how we ended the article.” He flipped open a reprint of the article and showed Alex the last sentence: “An organization aligned, individual by individual and team by team, to a shared Greater Goal is one of the most powerful forces for good on earth.”

“I believe you. But how did you gain buy-in to a shared Greater Goal?”

“We began by asking everyone, and I mean literally everyone who worked here, what he or she saw as the Greater Goal for the school. At the entrance to the school we placed a bulletin board inviting anyone and everyone to put their thoughts about the school’s Greater Goal on index cards.

“That started something. Hundreds of cards were created. Then, this being a tech-savvy school campus, a group of students built an online board with virtual cards.

“The online version took off. Alumni, administrators, faculty, students, and even prospective students got involved.”

Quinn joined in. “It went viral. Our stakeholders experienced the magnetic pull made possible when everyone is genuinely engaged.”

Doc continued, “We asked, ‘What do you really aspire to be? What does the world need from us? What do we value? What is good for the corporations where our students will ultimately work? How do we focus on doing good, along with doing well?’”

Doc opened a drawer in the antique desk and sifted through a few papers. “Finally, the time came when we needed to meet physically to align to a Greater Goal for the school. I sent invitations out.”

“And guess what?” Doc asked.

“What?” Alex said automatically.

“Everyone came!”

“Everyone?” Alex asked, astonished.

“Yep! We had to move to a bigger place. We moved the group to the biggest warehouse we could find on campus. Quinn and some of his wizard helpers facilitated us. We wrote on movable whiteboard walls to gather and synthesize ideas. We debated, deliberated, and decided—and we all owned it! In the same day we aligned to a Greater Goal, crafted strategic rules on how to get there, and even agreed on some key team-based initiatives. An amazing day.”

“And what was your shared Greater Goal?” Alex asked.

“As Quinn would say, the first thing about our Greater Goal is that it’s not about us. It’s about our students. The Greater Goal statement we crafted was: ‘We Are Leaders Serving Leaders. Together We Will Learn, Teach, and Serve.’”

Quinn interrupted. “And the shared commitment sparked a real transformation.”

Doc looked at Alex, “Oh, and by the way, bad news, Alex. I checked and you are still one class short of graduation.” Alex’s jaw dropped. Doc smiled broadly, “Just kidding. I hope this helps you guys.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Quinn said. “That was great. I need to get the patient home.”

Quinn drove Alex back toward Point Breeze in the East End of Pittsburgh. Alex was still reeling. “Who would have thought this could happen in my old B-school … When I was there, it was more like ‘faculty first.’ To hear the faculty embrace a ‘student first’ approach is amazing. I see what they did. What else would you say about the first practice, ‘Commit to the Greater Goal,’ Quinn?”

“A couple of things, Alex. Underneath the practice are a couple of key principles for you to consider as you think about implementation at Beckley.”

Quinn shifted in his seat to reach into his back pocket. “I hoped you would ask, so I have another card for you, Alex. I’m old school, so you’ll get these handwritten.” He handed Alex the slightly bent card.

Alex was puzzled. My Greater Goal is not about me? He sat in silence, wondering what that meant.