Why Entrepreneurs Should Ask, "Can You Imagine?"

As an entrepreneur, one of the most important things I ask myself and my staff is, "Can you imagine?" Those three simple words have resulted in some of the biggest achievements for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, from appearing on Oprah and Dr. Phil, to expanding to our third country, to being the subject of a Harvard Business Review case study.

What's particularly interesting about these milestones is that achieving them was never a goal included in anyone's job description. At 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, many staff members dream up blue-sky ideas and apply focus, faith, and effort into achieving audacious goals like these in addition to their regular duties.

Now the "Can you imagine?" concept is firmly embedded in the culture at O2E Brands - and prominently displayed on the wall at our head office, surrounded by dreams that have been achieved. But it wasn't always this way. It really became part of  our cultural identity when a rockstar employee came up with a huge goal: marketing manager Andrea Baxter wanted to see 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on every Starbucks cup in North America.

At the time, Starbucks was in the midst of their "The Way I See It" campaign. Their ubiquitous coffee cups featured life lessons and advice from prolific, history-making celebrities such as Oprah, Andy Roddick, and Madeleine Albright. Frankly, I doubted a junk-removal brand would qualify for inclusion in such esteemed company.

Despite my doubts, Andrea went forward with her plan for the next few months. She called, e-mailed, snail-mailed, and did numerous applications on the Starbucks website. She talked it up to me whenever she caught me walking through the office. She even leveraged our internal network, asking a franchise partner and former Starbucks employee, to arrange a meeting with an executive.

Before I knew it, Andrea came up to me with an announcement: Our brand was going to be displayed on 10 million cups across North America.

My first sip of Pike Roast out of a Starbucks cup featuring 1-800-GOT-JUNK? brought with it a few realizations about leadership, and I try to remember these thoughts when I make decisions about people and corporate culture.

I learned never to kill someone's spirit if they come to you with a big idea. Instead, ask questions to find out their level of faith and commitment to their vision. Empowering your employees to drive towards goals that align with the company's broader vision will contribute to your flywheel momentum.

Secondly, I realized that people want wins they can call their own. Any good leader will foster an entrepreneurial spirit in others because at the end of the day, what’s good for corporate culture is good for the bottom line.

Finally, ask “Can you imagine?” It’s an open-ended question that generates huge ideas and passion projects from you and your staff. With the right support, these blue-sky visions are achievable and may be the next big thing for you and your company.

Connect with Brian Scudamore on Twitter @brianscudamore