Anyone related to the image business will tell you that one of the first lessons learned is the importance of the history of a client’s company: its people, products and services – where they came from, how they got here.
You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.
A company with a rich history of success, integrity, excellence, and leadership provides an unbelievably strong foundation for future branding and marketing opportunities. The value of such a history is immeasurable.
Bo Schembechler, the late, great head football coach at the University of Michigan, clearly understood the importance of history when he accepted the job:
One of the most common mistakes new leaders make—and I just can’t for the life of me understand this one—is to ignore the history of the organization they just took over, or even to disrespect it. That, to me, is the mark of a weak leader—and one who’s probably not going to last very long.
Let me be as clear as I can be about this: When you become the leader, do not start your reign by dismantling or ignoring the contributions of those who came before. The history of your organization is one of your greatest strengths, and if you’re new to the organization, it’s your job to learn it, to respect it and to teach it to the people coming up in your company.
…at no time did I ignore the guys who played here before I arrived, either. It was their tradition, not mine, that I was now in charge of, and I was going to show them I respected what they’d built here.
Bo obviously understood the extremely positive impact history could have on maximizing a team’s performance, effectiveness and future success. He also understood the importance of TEAM: that successful organizations throughout history — be they companies, schools, religious groups, cities, states, countries – are essentially groups of individuals who are members of a family, the team, who have CHOSEN to be there…who try their best to contribute to its continued success and growth, who respect and deeply appreciate what their predecessors and so many others did to allow them an opportunity.
This past weekend marked the anniversary of our country’s independence – the birth of The United States of America, a team built on extremely diverse cultures, backgrounds and skills. At the core are millions of stories of people, family members, most of whom came from somewhere else, each in search of a better life. Together they have achieved things that no other nation in the history of the civilized world ever has.
As I reflected with pride to be part of this team, a friend sent a video clip of a recent segment of a Jay Leno show. In it, Leno interviews several people about their knowledge of the history of the country. Now, I’m sure that many were able to answer the simple questions successfully, and that those chosen for the clip were actually a small percentage of the total – hopefully. But I’m secretly wondering if we can “cut” some of these people from the team, given their total lack of respect and appreciation for the history of our nation, and the people who sacrificed so much to make it what it is.
Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. – George Santayana
Happy Birthday, USA.
