Align Your Dream
In learning how to appeal to people’s ideals, move their souls, and uplift their spirits—and your own—there is no better place to look than to the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His “I Have a Dream” speech tops the list of the best American public addresses of the twentieth century. On the national holiday in the United States marking his birthday, this speech is replayed, and young and old alike are reminded of the power of a clear and uplifting vision of the future. If you have never listened closely to Dr. King’s words, take a few moments to read or hear them.8
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Imagine that you are there on that hot and humid day—August 28, 1963—when on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washing- ton, DC, before a throng of 250,000, Martin Luther King Jr. pro- claimed his dream to the world. Imagine that you’re listening to King as thousands around you clap and applaud and cry out. Now try to better understand why this speech is so powerful and how he is capable of moving so many people.
We’ve asked thousands of people over the years to listen to King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and then tell us what they heard, how they felt, and why they thought this speech remains so moving even today.9 Following is a sampling of their observations.
“He appealed to common interests.” “He talked about traditional values of family, church, and country.” “It was vivid. He used a lot of images and word pictures. You could
see the examples.” “People could relate to the examples. They were familiar.” “His references were credible. It’s hard to argue against the Constitu-
tion or the Bible.” “He mentioned children—something we can all relate to.” “It was personal. He mentioned his own children, but it wasn’t just
his kids because he also talked about everyone’s children.” “He knew his audience.” “He made geographical references to places the people in the audi-
ence could relate to.” “He included everybody: different parts of the country, all ages, both
sexes, major religions several times.” “He used a lot of repetition: for example, saying ‘I have a dream,’
and ‘Let freedom ring’ several times.” “He talked about the same ideas many times but in different ways.”
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G E “He began with a statement of the difficulties and then stated his
hope for the future.” “He was positive and hopeful.” “Although positive, he didn’t promise it would be easy.” “There was a cadence and a rhythm to his voice.” “He shifted from ‘I’ to ‘we’ halfway through.” “He spoke with emotion and passion. It was something he
genuinely felt.”
These reflections reveal the key to success in enlisting others. To get others excited about your dream, you need to speak about meaning and purpose. You have to show them how their dreams will be realized. You have to connect your message to their values, their aspirations, their experiences, and their own lives. You have to show them that it’s not about you, or even the organization, but about them and their needs. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech vividly illustrates how the ability to exert an enlivening influence is rooted in fundamental values, cultural traditions, personal conviction, and a capacity to use words to create positive images of the future. To enlist others, you need to bring the vision to life. You have to make manifest the purpose so that others can see it, hear it, taste it, touch it, feel it. You have to make the connection between an inspiring vision of the future and the personal aspirations and passions of the people you are addressing. You have to describe a compelling image of how people can realize their dreams.
Ed Fernandez took these ideas to heart when he began his new role as general manager of WXYZ, a legacy television station owned by Scripps in Detroit.10 Having come from outside the organization, Ed anticipated resistance to change and skepticism from some of the employees, but what he found was quite the opposite. “Here was a business, full of talented and skilled personnel,” he explained, “and
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they simply wanted something to believe in at a personally meaning- ful level. They were eager to embrace a vision (mission and purpose) that would make their community a better place.”
Ed took the time to listen to their concerns, both individually and in small groups. By aligning his dreams with those of his employees, he created a shared picture of “what we wanted to be as a media organization.” Taking the time to consistently communicate that vision made a remarkable difference in morale and productivity, and this process produced the concept of “Detroit 2020”—a vision to be the centerpiece of discourse that could help spark the renais- sance of Detroit and the region. By utilizing the power and resources of WXYZ, this decade-long, multiplatform community impact ini- tiative provides a shared goal for everyone to follow. Ed says, “People have a purpose for their work and know how they can contribute to the overall success.” An internal survey validated the station’s prog- ress; 94 percent of the respondents agreed that “WXYZ can make things happen when committed to an idea,” and more than five in six believed that “within three years WXYZ will be the market leader.” By appealing to common interests as Ed did, you can get people to commit to future possibilities.