Motivation Fuel

A great business leader spoke before an arena full of colleagues. He was asked, “What is your #1 responsibility?” He answered, “To fuel the dreams of the people in my organization.” A confused hush fell over the crowd. Surely an organizational leader must focus first on management responsibilities. They asked, “What about sales, training, marketing, board develoent, mission statements….” He abruptly stopped the conversation and said, “If a man’s dream is big enough, the facts don’t count!” In other words, a man who knows why he is doing a task doesn’t need to be managed. He will find a way to achieve his goals.

Lead your chapter by becoming the dream-builder for your organization. Effective leaders leverage the motivating desires of their members and chapter. Below is a meaningful exercise you can do formally or informally with the brothers of your chapter to better understand their individual and collective desires.


Dream Building: Have – Do – Become

Fold a piece of paper into three equal parts. Write the words Have, Do, and Become separately at the top of each column. Now, think about the chapter at its best. Get a mental picture of the chapter as you want it to be – when it’s at its maximum size with only the highest quality members who are deeply involved. Take 90 seconds and, without stopping, write down all the things you can imagine the chapter “having.” These should be possessions… things you could touch… wonderful things that exist beyond your present reality.

At the end of 90 seconds stop and move to the next column. Repeat the same exercise thinking specifically about what you and your chapter members could “do” in a perfect scenario. What actions, adventures, good deeds, fun times, or activities would you do if there were no boundaries on the possibilities?

Finally, move to the last column for 90 seconds. Consider what members of your chapter will “become” as a result of joining your organization when the chapter is at its best. Describe their character, personality, or any intangible quality of the man/woman.

Dream building should be one of your first steps when it comes to recruitment... not goal setting, that comes much later. First, build a dream that truly motivates you and fellow members to do the hard work it will take to make your chapter remarkable.