How can you align executive decisions with community needs?

It’s absolutely a must do to know your community and their needs and align your business for maximum impact . Profit initiatives must take into account planet and environment

Developing your executive vision, strategy, or investments in meeting your community needs require active stakeholder engagement. Tactical approaches for communication and relationship building include: - Forming advisory boards and/or community roundtable. - Holding "listening sessions" or townhalls. - Requesting for "meet and greets" with key external community leaders.

Any community initiative, in my experience, must at least in part, be driven by and include the voices of relevant stakeholders. Otherwise there is the risk that any solutions, programs, projects, etc. will not be designed in a manner that optimizes participation and takes into account nuanced variables that non-beneficiaries may not be aware of and may be crucial to long-term success.

By actively involving the community, considering diverse perspectives, and prioritizing the long-term well-being of the community, executives can make decisions that better align with the needs and values of the people they serve. This approach fosters a more collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship between businesses or organizations and the communities in which they operate.

It’s absolutely a must do to know your community and their needs and align your business for maximum impact . Profit initiatives must take into account planet and environment

Creation of the industry community forum of the top voices is one of the best ways to engage and moderate communication by asking open questions and generating discussion.

There are two comminities within each location..those who have and those who have less While the subject of knowing your community. i.e. suppliers, local customers and media, influential groups, influencers, etc. makes sense, what do you expect to learn from digging deep to learn their needs? Your group can ID the looming needs of the less fortunate. Once issues agreed, make a 'communicty' plan: strategize and execute collectively. DO YOU KNOW THE NEEDS in your community? ESG including education are ideal starting places.

Understanding who your customer is both internal and external is the key to moving from a business relationship to a partnership. Partners have a commitment to making each other successful, they know the values and objectives of one another and understand that each of you need to find solutions that meet the needs of all parties.

Defining goals and values is crucial for aligning executive decisions with community needs. A blend of the organization's vision and the community's expectations creates a powerful synergy. Utilizing frameworks like SMART and OKR enhances clarity and accountability. It's important to ensure these goals are not just theoretical but actively integrated into daily operations. This alignment not only builds trust with the community but also fosters a sense of shared purpose among stakeholders, which is essential for long-term success and sustainability. Balancing business objectives with community welfare demonstrates a commitment to ethical leadership and corporate responsibility.

Develop and implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that outline your commitment to ethical, sustainable, and community-friendly practices and have this policy guide the definition of goals and values.

Understanding "what does success look like" and how are we as a team going to get there is key. Failure to execute or what we often refer to as "Analysis paralysis" is a killer of success. Successful organizations have leaders who facilitate their team winning, they TAAF, (Take Aim And Fire) Analyze and evaluate (Take Aim) and Execute (And Fire). They help everyone "Win" on a daily basis.

One of my top Leaders is often reminding the team "It's Chess, not Checkers", we are playing the long game, setting up for future success's, developing the next level of Leader and ensuring a great atmosphere for success.

Understanding and meeting current needs is vital, and concurrently, it's crucial to have a forward-looking approach. By assessing our immediate requirements and simultaneously anticipating future needs, we can implement strategies that not only address the present challenges but also set a foundation for sustained success. This dual focus ensures adaptability to changing circumstances and positions us to proactively cater to the evolving demands of our community.

So, you've come up with an idea, concept or stratgy new for your company. Explain the rationale to your team...do not keep them in the dark. It will be helpful for the team to know the problem or reason you have made a decision to make change. And the hows and whys. You may want to articulate your expectations Get all on the same page of understanding and look to them for support. So now everyone knows what will happen, why and the anticipation of reaching the end goal.

Great teams make sure everyone has "skin in the game" the all accept ownership in wins and losses. This means Leaders need to communicate, they need to own their mistakes, celebrate the wins, and engage everyone. As Ben Franklin put it "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

When addressing the stakeholders of the community , tailoring the message to resonate with their perspectives enhances overall effectiveness. After making a decision, transparently articulating the rationale behind it, aligning with goals and values, and emphasizing community benefits fosters understanding and trust.

I recently did an anonymous "pulse survey" with my team, determining if they all trusted myself, our leaders, each other, and if they felt equipped and set up to succeed. We set up lots of KPI's and goals that go with them but I have to come back to, employee's first and they'll take care of your customers (from a Richard Branson quote).

Quantitative and qualitative reseach are commonplace and equally valued. To test the outcome of any initiatives (already designed to have an end goal) - take advantage of both avenues. NOTE: It only makes sense to conduct research before the initiaive and after to have a comparison.

Who doesn't learn from their mistakes or the mistakes of others? Are you keeping a keen eye not just locally but further afield on successful events, policies and procedures, major changes that can affect guests. Lean the results. So learn not only from your own mistakes or misjudgements of that of others. Share your newfound data with you team - remember to mentor.

Inculcating the community into the purpose of an organization via job creation, supporting education and equal opportunities for the minorities, end-product design that takes the less fortunate and the vulnerable in mind, inculcating volunteer work into the DNA of an organization, aligning with local government policies and leadership, and balancing all these with profits would be key in creating the right environment, culture and mindset that will naturally cascade into daily decision making of staff across the organization. Inducing a virtuous and sustainable cycle.

Aligning executive decisions with community needs is a lengthy process. Recognizing achievements reinforces the value of collaborative decision-making and encourages continued engagement along the way. It not only boosts community morale but also serves as a testament to the effectiveness of aligning executive decisions with community needs. Celebrating successes contributes to an ongoing positive cycle, fostering trust and creating a sense of shared accomplishment within the community.

Stay! Many companies look for a parade (already going on) and try to stand in front of it, as if they made it happen. Then they are off to the next flashy-splashy thing on social media. Decide to stay with the project / program for years (decades) regardless of public relations pop. The longer you stay, the easier it is to bond / blend your company's objectives and goals to the community's. Get involved with elementary school reading programs, food banks, etc. (nitty-gritty hands dirty issues), not a lot of social media flash but a whole lot of lives changed, not instantly, but consistently. The longer you stay, the longer the community will remember your company.