“Buy-in” is one of those business catchphrases that is so overused, nobody seems to know what it really means anymore.

You already know it’s important for your employees to buy in to what your company is doing. But what does that really mean? We should start by calling buy-in what it really is: emotional engagement. And what is emotional engagement? It’s the “why” of your company and your people.

A few weeks ago, I pulled into a convenience store that had a banner out front touting “Best Quality, Fastest Service and Lowest Prices.” When I went into the store it was dirty, and the prices were double what I expected. I even had to go find the cashier! The Sales and Marketing arm of this store did their job of getting me in the door – but Operations didn’t deliver on the promise.

Once there was a football team who overcame an upset loss to a rival and made it to the playoffs, only to lose in the semi-finals.

The following year, they lost to the same rival, again overcame the loss to make it to the playoffs, but this time, they won the championship.

Obviously, I’m talking about the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2014 and 2015 seasons. They found themselves in the same scenario in two different years.

At EOS we teach that you can’t build a business on multiple operating systems with multiple languages. Your language must be intentional and conscious. When you use consistent language on a daily basis with your team, it reinforces your company culture and helps your team to bond. 

The ability to hire and retain good people is the biggest challenge facing most companies today.  I often hear comments like the millennials don’t care, nobody has any loyalty anymore, the work ethic today is not what it used to be, etc. What that tells me is we have to be better at hiring the “Right People”.

Words like “Core Values” and “Culture” get so much press today that you can get numb to them. However, they are a key to solving the “People Problem” and enhancing your overall business.