Leaders can use a technique that great teachers use: mnemonics, or memory devices. These mind tricks help people learn critical information and communicate it in an accessible way for others to remember. I can still remember my piano scale from decades ago: "Every Good Boy Does Fine" (EGBDF). Proof of the power of novel ways to impact memory function! Two pertinent examples for today's leaders follow: learning the nine protected classes and the five components that define culture.
Knowing the classes of people who are protected by law is essential for leaders to avoid lawsuits and to show respect for all people within an organization. "Get NASCAR-REV-D" is a simple way to remember National origin, Age of 40 and over, Sex meaning gender and not orientation, Color, And (a reminder there five are more), Race, Religion, Ethnicity, Veterans, and Disabled. Consider the image of this explanation: Both genders of many national origins and ethnic groups drive brightly colored cars in a race for the finish line where the disabled vehicles and aged veterans are celebrated like a religion on a holy day. "Get NASCAR-REV-D" helps interviewers and reviewers stay out of trouble!
When developing a national or regional culture or a corporate or nonprofit culture, five components require attention: Values, Appearance, Unique food, Language, and Traditions. Use the VAULT acrostic to remember that the people in your organization that you treasure are kept safe in your VAULT. Finding ways to differentiate your organization is a serious branding and marketing objective. Core values help leaders formulate mission and vision statements that keep everyone within the organization focused on common goals and clarify the purpose of the organization to customers and competitors.
One's skin color, hair color and texture, physique, and facial characteristics have been noted as differentiators for family, national, racial, and ethnic units for centuries. The resemblance is noted easily. Likewise costumes of heritage and wealth are easy to recognize as differentiators: kilts, Plains Indian headdress, cowboy hat and boots, denim jeans, Prada accessories,and any brand name garment. Appearance helps leaders develop a sense of belongingness to the organizational family with uniforms (Southwest Airlines), logos (branding such as golden double arches for McDonald's), identifying colors (brown for UPS), volumpuous female physique (Hooters), and any other attribute for bodies and clothing.
Unique food is obvious for a national or regional culture; for example, just think of Americans and hamburgers come to mind, Germans remind us of beer and brats, and Mexicans remind us of salsa and tortillas. Perhaps an on-site cafeteria or vending machines define your organization's "unique food." Maybe it's a 15-minute bag lunch at your desk or group jaunts to a local restaurant.
The language will address the jargon of your industry and the regionalisms of your geographical environment. Grammar becomes a part of this language component as well. You may also have special terms for products and services, some of which may be registered trademarks, copyrights, or pattens. In our global market, many telemarketers have accents from around the world and organizations are owned by managements located in other countries. These language differentiators become part of the organization's identity.
Finally, traditions may include award ceremonies, annual picnics, promotion from within, an organization song or cheer, innovative or conservative perspectives, quarterly performance appraisals, management by objectives, safety audits, regulatory compliance, Six Sigma, and/or official and unofficial codes of conduct. A treasured culture is kept in a VAULT!
Simple mind tricks can empower leaders, employees, and students with the knowledge they need to perform successfully. It's worth a few minutes to create a mnemonic for fast, complete retrieval of essential information. Afterall, "every good boy [and girl] does fine!"
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