The 7-7-7 Rule
Moving beyond personal leadership development and into understanding organizational leadership.
“What is most important is not what happens but what it means.”
– Bolman & Deal, Reframing Organizations
When it comes to leadership development, I find that much of what I’ve encountered and learned all has to do with personal development. Of course, that is deeply important. I have taught classes and given workshops on such topics as StrengthsFinder, the Enneagram, emotional health, and other topics that I believe are key factors in our development as people. However, it wasn’t until a few years into doctoral studies (I was almost 40 years old!) that I had the opportunity to consider leadership development from a “bigger picture” framework. That is, to consider organizational development. It was a whole new world for me!
With that, I was invited into the writings, and worlds, of leadership gurus such as Ronald Heifetz, John Kotter, and Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. Engaging these authors was truly transformational. One work that I found particularly interesting is Bolman and Deal’s Reframing Organizations. This massive tome of 500+ pages, now in its 8th edition, lays out the four frameworks, or lenses, under which organizations operate. The two authors identify them as the Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic Frames.
While I believe there are key components to consider within all four of these frameworks, and I think all organizations need to include each of these on some level, I have been very much struck by the symbolic frame. This framework highlights how culture and meaning shape organizations. I personally had never thought about this aspect. Organizations were about flow charts, policies, roles, tasks, and much of the technical stuff. What we could perhaps file under Bolman and Deal’s structural framework.
When it comes to organizational culture, here is what I’ve learned over the years: One can walk into a setting and, from the get-go, that person will get a sense of the culture of a place. Some may catch it a little quicker than others. But, at the end of the day, all organizations exude their culture, whether intentionally or not. This happens by what we see and hear, perhaps even touch, taste, and smell. We could call this the sensory lens just as much as the symbolic framework.
A few years after being introduced to organizational development, I began to further ponder this symbolic perspective more. It led me to formulate a kind of “up-front experience rule” that makes clear the culture, or meaning, of an organization. I would call it the 7-7-7 Rule. It goes like this:
What will people experience within the first 7 seconds of stepping into a place? This is what they see.
What will people experience within the first 7 minutes of stepping into a place? This is the people they meet.
What will people experience within the first 7 days after having stepped into a place? This is the follow-up from the people they meet.
I frame the 7-7-7 Rule this way because of the setting I have worked in for nearly 20 years now – higher education. This is especially relevant when it comes to the prospective student experience. If an institution’s possible “new customers” are engaging in a campus visit/tour, these three 7s are paramount when it comes to drawing and enrolling new students.
Now, let me be clear. This isn’t about creating a facade that fools people (if they can be fooled). If a certain culture doesn’t truly exist, then it will be difficult to cover the gaps that are glaringly present. Nor will an organization be able to maintain such a meaningful setting in the long-term. Yet, the possible greater challenge is that, if you cannot create a genuine meaningful experience within the first 7 seconds, 7 minutes, and 7 days, you are communicating that such a culture does not exist down the line. And that’s true even if an amazing opportunity actually awaits the customer (or prospective student).
Remember, perception is reality for most people. Especially in our world today where, unfortunately, most people don’t want to give the time to test the proverbial waters. Waiting around for things to unfold is of a bygone era.
So, what do people see when they walk in? A message is already present through what one sees.
Next, who will be met as customers are welcomed into a setting? What kind of message will be delivered, and what’s the method? Remember that, many times, the method is the message.
Finally, once people have left and gone their separate ways, what’s the follow up plan? If you can engage their senses – what they can hear, see, and touch – within a week of their departure, you will be making clear the culture of your organization. You are giving meaningful messages to your prospects. They’ll be able “see” further and deeper into the culture that awaits them.
Again, please don’t miss what I’m saying here. This isn’t to create some kind of false experience that is far from reality. An organization won’t be able to maintain what is not truly there. Rather, this is about creating genuine pathways to show how important new customers, students, prospects, etc, are within your organization. It’s about establishing a place of authentic meaning that will be developed, delivered, and remain for these individuals. But, if it’s not, then you’re most likely going to lose them to another place that has already set their own unique culture, one that includes an invitation to that organization’s table.
So, wherever you work, whatever your role, consider what culture is present and how that differs from the culture you desire. Then, begin creating pathways to build that culture, including how it gets present up front through the 7-7-7 Rule.