Why no one cares about your big plans
You have heard it said: “No one cares what you know, until they know that you care”.
Well add this to your repertoire:
“No one cares about your plans until they know that you care about theirs”.
If you have big plans, you need to enlist the help of others and you need to complete the mission together.
But why would people join you? Why would they want to be part of your business plan?
Most of the people you are trying to excite do not have a big business plan of their own. However, they have all sorts of plans for other areas of their life.
While some of their plans have nothing to do with you. Others are indirectly or directly related to their work.
They might have plans for what gives them job satisfaction, the amount of income they earn, the work life flexibility they desire, the purposes they contribute to, the learning and education they aspire to attain or the belonging and respect they crave.
What does that mean for you and your business plans?
If their plans drift too far from your plans, they are going to start to resent your plans, or even stop being part of your plan.
You need to genuinely care about the plans of your employees and hunt for overlap between your plans and theirs.
This requires patience, as most people struggle to articulate their desires and plans.
Look out for two things:
When an employee seems happy and is enjoying work, instead of taking this for granted, ask them “why would you work here instead of somewhere else?”
Their answer will reveal overlap between your plans and theirs.Alternatively, when your employee seems to be struggling and unmotivated, ask them “what’s missing from work right now? You help me so much, I want to know how I can help you?”
Look behind their answers and search for the overlap between your plans and theirs.
This might seem too personal or emotional, but if you want people to care about your plans over the long run, you must care about theirs.
And let’s be real, would you follow blindly if someone came to you and said “I have great plans for your business… trust me, just do exactly as I say”.
Don’t expect your employees to trust you blindly with plans for their lives.
