Invite People on Your Bus and
Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead
Jon Gordon is now saying to us that we need to have people on our bus and they need to know what route is. Having the right people around us is vitally important to our successes in life. This is true for all aspects of our lives. Remember being in school? (I do too....!) Our success level in the classroom was largely dependent on which group of friends we were hanging out with at the time. The same is true in the "real world." There are many of us with passengers on our bus who's energy is not conducive to a successful drive. Gordon stresses the importance of choosing the right people to ride our bus and then showing them the vision for the trip. In order to do this, we must have already regained control of the wheel as the driver of our bus; realized the vision for bus ride and filled up the tank with positive energy. Once those three steps are complete, it's time to start taking on passengers!
"There's no better way to get people on your bus than telling them where you are going and asking them to get on...you must share your vision with them. You must make it clear what you expect...if you don't clearly communicate your vision of the road ahead no one will want to travel with you." (page 58)
This seems simple: let people know where you taking them before you take them there. However, there are many of us that are in charge of families or in charge of teams at work or school and we are leading with no vision. People take great confidence in following someone if they know that person has a vision of where they are going. It is vitally important that the vision for our bus' journey is clear enough to us that we could tell anyone at anytime. This clarity will make it easy to convey the vision to those potential passengers. Much like the passengers from the book, our passengers will have unique stories, varied backgrounds and qualities but all will add to the energy of the bus; not detract from it. Each person on Joy's bus believed very strongly in the Energy Bus principle and everyone that rides your bus should believe as well. Belief comes from the vision set before us!
Joy advises George to pass out tickets to invite people onto his bus as a tangible way to get his work team on board with a project. She also advises George to do the same with his wife. The reason for the tickets is so that George can see who is on board to ride the bus and who isn't based on the vision that he's explained. Who do you need to hand tickets out to in your life?
This blog is shorter than the others but much more concise: add the right passengers to your bus and add to the energy flowing around you!
(www.theenergybus.com has actual tickets that you can print out and hand out to those in your life that you want to ride your bus...hop online and happy driving!)
Why am I the only one commenting?? Hmmmm... Anyhoo, I haven't commented in a few days because I was sick with strep throat so I stopped reading and shut it down. Then after I was better it was hard getting back started. I wish I could do better at staying on track with things. I often start things and then don't finish. This is my year of completions and reaching my goals and fulfilling my vision.
ReplyDeleteAs far as this rule...I'm ready to invite my kids on my bus. But not sure if they are ready to get on. They don't take me seriously when I try and get serious with them. They also become defensive as if I am saying that they are doing something wrong and need to change. So, when I have the conversation with them I have to really be sensative to how they will take it. Any suggestions?? Part of my vision has to do with them so I really want them to be on board. What do you think??
I am the same way...great at starting; bad at finishing. But 2011 is changing that. I HAVE to learn to be a finisher because it doesn't make sense to begin things unless I end them.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion is to just sit them down, explain what you've been learning from the book, explain to them your vision and how/why you want them to be involved and why you think they would benefit from being on the bus.