The Schoolbus Test

Have you ever wondered what happens when the founder leaves his organization or legacy to the next person? Will the organization still keep its vision alive, or will it die out? Some might question the organization’s ability to keep its vision alive without the founder. 

Simon Sinek describes this situation through a metaphor called ‘The school bus test’ in his book ‘Start with Why’. 

The school bus test is a simple metaphor to understand. The metaphor goes as follows; If the founder or leader gets hit by a school bus, would your organization still be able to thrive at the same pace without the founder? Or will it be disrupted? 

It sounds ridiculous, but many organizations are built upon one personality. One leader who can bring the most out of his organization. 

So, what will happen when the founder is gone? Well, most companies try to live up to the founder’s vision but fail miserably. And that’s because the WHY of the organization hasn’t been fully integrated into the organization’s culture. 

‘The challenge is not to cling to the leader, but it’s to find an effective way to keep the founder’s vision alive.’

A clear example of a failed school bus test is Walmart. Many of you have heard of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Walton learned the value of hard work in his early life. Working hard leads to winning, and he created a retail empire that generated 44 billion dollars annually in sales. More than 40 million people were shopping at Walmart each week. 

Sam Walton didn’t build the empire through manipulations such as low prices, discounts, and more. Many retail establishments were able to use these strategies too, but that didn’t inspire people. So, why was Walmart successful even though other competitors had the same advantages? 

Walton was inspired by serving the people, the community, the employees, and its customers. That’s what Walmart stood for, but the problem was that his legacy didn’t get passed over to the next generation after he died. 

Walmart’s WHY became fuzzy through the years. Inspiration was traded for manipulation. The WHY was forgotten, and the driving motivation went to being cheap. 

In 2008, the organization faced many lawsuits related to wage violations, which led to a bad reputation. Many lawmakers even fight to block Walmart from opening new stores across the country. 

Walmart is still making lots of sales annually. WHAT they are doing and HOW they are doing things is still the same. However, their WHY went fuzzy. A once beloved company became unloved anymore.

So, how can companies live up to the vision beyond the lifetime of their founder?

Well, that’s a good question. First, the WHY must be extracted and integrated into the organization’s culture. Every employee at your organization should know what you stand for and believe in that vision. 

The organization should be searching for a future leader who is inspired by the founding cause, the WHY of the organization. Someone ready to lead the future generation. Someone who thinks beyond profit and shareholders. A leader who is inspired by something bigger than the force of the founder’s personality. 

When the leader and employees align with the WHY, then your organization passes the school bus test. It is also the only succession plan that works. Not convinced yet? 

Imagine owning a company. You built the company from scratch and made it a multimillion-dollar business. The company is entirely built upon your vision. The company culture was created by you. 

Not someone else. So, how can someone else live up to your vision? Well, some have incredible skills that match perfectly as a leader. But can he live up to your vision? Many can’t because they have their vision or because these CEOs just look after themselves instead of others. Looting from the top.