Well, you must serve both, but you must serve your vision first before all else, before even profit. If you strive first for profit, you will get neither profit or your vision, but if you accomplish your vision you will get both. Jim Collins's "Good to Great" is a well known strategy book published in 2001, but there is a rebuttal on the Internet that the companies he designated as "Good to Great" eventually failed to do well.
I am not here to defend "Good to Great", but my response is that the reason they fell is because eventually profit became the main driver before vision. Not necessarily because there were bad people running the company but because the company was not sufficiently committed to their vision. The vision of your organization can never come second to any other goal. The world is littered with companies who appeared to have everything but were overcome because they simply could not transition fast enough.
In game theory, there is a concept of the chicken game, where two drivers are driving at each other and the one who swerves first is the loser. Game theory proposes a solution on how to win the chicken game. It turns out the way to be the winner is to show total commitment to going straight ahead by throwing the steering wheel out the window. That is the answer to always driving to your vision as well. Once you are pointed towards your vision, you must throw the steering wheel out the window. If you are willing to do that, you can remain great forever, provided you have created the right vision.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
What causes your customers to fail?
You have laid out a compelling vision based on your customers' success. You are passionate about your vision. You are creating a brand that is executing against your vision. You are well on your way to amazing growth. So what is stopping you? The better question might be what is stopping your customer? It is important to recognize the factors that are causing your customers to fail and find a way to overcome them. It could be something simple like lack of parking or something more significant, think about shipping costs and Amazon.com, which led them to create Prime. There is also the frequently mentioned case of Febreze, which according to its Wikipedia entry,
Regardless of the cause, if there is something that is causing your customers to fail, you have to find a way to address it.
"The product initially sold poorly until P&G realised that people had become accustomed to the smells in their own homes, then switched to linking it to pleasant smells and cleaning habits to produce the successful product."
Regardless of the cause, if there is something that is causing your customers to fail, you have to find a way to address it.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The best position
The employee I don't want is the one primarily concerned with their status before all else. The one who always manages up but is hard on those below. The one who takes credit first and the one who takes blame last.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Your customer needs you
You have a loyal customer who thinks of you first, she loves your organization's product, but the time comes when she needs a little help with your product or service. You are too busy and you know she is loyal so her post sits unanswered on Facebook, your hold times on the phone remain long, or your staff takes your lead and makes her feel second priority. Later you look and realize she went somewhere else for her next purchase. She was very loyal, a great customer, but you weren't there when she needed you so she went elsewhere. The fact is, your failures hit the most loyal customers hardest, because they expect more than a simple transaction from you. You have your reasons to justify your actions, "We are so busy this time of year" or "We are trying to reduce costs." No matter how good your reasons are they don't get her back.
It is certain that your customer is going to ask for things when it isn't convenient for you, but think carefully about how you respond, they may invite someone else to help next time. Are your best relationships with people who let you down when you really need them or with those who are there for you? The foundation of your brand are the relationships you develop. Through their stories, the existing customer is the one who will be representing your brand to potential customers the most.
It is certain that your customer is going to ask for things when it isn't convenient for you, but think carefully about how you respond, they may invite someone else to help next time. Are your best relationships with people who let you down when you really need them or with those who are there for you? The foundation of your brand are the relationships you develop. Through their stories, the existing customer is the one who will be representing your brand to potential customers the most.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
What standard do you hold yourself to?
Do you hold you or your organization to the standards of everyone else around you or to some higher standard? If you say, "Well, they do this, so can we" or "I know this isn't great, but it is good enough," you will earn the distinction you deserve. None. If you choose not to stand out, don't be surprised that when it comes to recognize stand outs you are not included. If all you have to give is what everyone else gives, you are not giving the best of who you are. The standard you meet becomes your brand. Not being the worse is not the place you want to be. No one talks about the company jumping the low bar, no one wants to evangelize for the low bar, and guess what people want to pay for the low bar? A little bit less than the price that the next company crossing the low bar is charging.
Feel free to give
If you live up to your vision you are going to give many gifts for which you can expect no return. I do not mean literal presents, but assistance, advice, knowledge, listening, work for which you may never be repaid. Do I think you or your business will ultimately benefit from these gifts? Yes, but if you give them with that expectation they are not gifts at all, but simply transactions with offset timing. So why give? Because you have a vision where you are creating a better world. Because you can do great work because there is no payment. Because you will be better. What if you gave gifts expecting nothing in return?
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Your attitude is viral
You know that awesome Internet meme, the one that gets spread around social media, gets talked about by celebrities, gets a million YouTube views? Your attitude is like that meme. Your team's attitude, your group's attitude, your company's attitude is like that meme. Your attitude goes from you to your co-workers and from them to their co-workers, from those co-workers to your customers and so on. It is up to you whether you are infecting people with an upbeat, positive, motivating message or if you are infecting people with negativity, complaining, and ill will. It is up to you alone. Not your boss, your boss's boss, the CEO, the guy in the elevator, just you. Did your attitude make someone's life a little better today, the world a little better or did you take a little away? The most amazing thing is the amount of change your attitude can bring.
Don't believe it? It definitely applies to ethical behavior. NPR did a story in May, 2013 on a study at the University of Michigan about how your colleagues are one of the primary drivers of ethical behavior.
Key quote, "That's right, David. He's finding that the effects of having an ethical supervisor are completely neutralized, if people felt their peers were unethical. So when people felt they had ethical peers they reported problems. When they felt that coworkers were unethical they were much less likely to speak up."
The fact that you have such influence on your peers' attitudes, means that we must own our own culture. It isn't just what you say to your teammates, it is also how you respond to their comments. Is what they are saying making you better? Is it constructive? Would you want them to say that your customer?
Don't believe it? It definitely applies to ethical behavior. NPR did a story in May, 2013 on a study at the University of Michigan about how your colleagues are one of the primary drivers of ethical behavior.
Key quote, "That's right, David. He's finding that the effects of having an ethical supervisor are completely neutralized, if people felt their peers were unethical. So when people felt they had ethical peers they reported problems. When they felt that coworkers were unethical they were much less likely to speak up."
The fact that you have such influence on your peers' attitudes, means that we must own our own culture. It isn't just what you say to your teammates, it is also how you respond to their comments. Is what they are saying making you better? Is it constructive? Would you want them to say that your customer?
Monday, August 12, 2013
What are you asking for?
There has never been a successful person who did it completely alone. Never. Even the lone novelist locked away in her cabin in the woods needed someone to print the book, needed someone to read the book, needed someone to provide the ink and paper. Because of this, the time is going to come when you are going to need to ask someone for something. More likely, you are going to ask a lot of people for many things. You will ask things of your employees, your boss, your customers, your suppliers.... The question is, how do you ask? Do you ask clearly so there is no doubt what you are asking for? Or are you sheepish in asking, so that the ask is fuzzy and lacks certainty? Do you ask once and then are shocked when it doesn't happen and complain that you can't believe the person is ignoring you? Or do you ask again knowing that people are busy and have other concerns? There is no need to be obnoxious or rude in asking, but make sure that the person you are asking knows what you are asking for. A clear ask is an important part of open and honest communications.
Friday, August 9, 2013
A house divided
It is critical that your objectives are stated as clear as possible and that you get clear acknowledgement back that those goals are supported by everyone. No soft statements or assumed support. Your team cannot knowingly or unknowingly work against itself. There is perhaps no more damaging result than this and can destroy a team. the shame is that morale can be destroyed by this even when everyone has the best intentions.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
What ties you together?
If you look at your organization what practices or experiences give everyone a shared experience or shared understanding? Is there anything that allows every person to say I know the employee sitting next to me does this and the employee across the country does this and the employee working 5 years ago did this and the employee working 10 years from now will do this? This experience should create a common bond between all. For example, every enlisted Marine knows that every enlisted Marine went to bootcamp. The Marines emphasize that fact, even if you were a staff sergeant in the Army, if you want to become a Marine, you are going to bootcamp. Do you remember the story of Riddick Bowe? He was a world champion boxer who decided to become a Marine. His first stop? Bootcamp.
Or think about Alcoholics Anonymous and the serenity prayer.
Or think about Alcoholics Anonymous and the serenity prayer.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Ask others to follow and then meet them where they are
When you are a leader and are asking people to change, ask them to follow you, not be convinced, not be fully bought in, but to simply follow. Once they choose to follow, meet them where they are. Don't force them to come to you, but seek them out, understand their situation, their concerns. Why? How often are you convinced by one interaction? Before you are bought in, don't you want to know what you are buying into?
Allow yourself to be amazed...
What is our reaction when someone does something amazing? Do we take the time to recognize it? It is OK to be amazed. If fact, I think it should be one of life's pleasures that someone can give you the gift of amazement. We should celebrate the amazing accomplishments. ESPN has the Top 10 plays of the day, plays that are astonishing, worthy of being recognized outside of the rest of the game. I am sure amazing plays are occurring in the workplace as well, but instead of just appreciating them, we start to attach meaning to them. Is there some ulterior motive? Does that make me look bad? She had help putting that together...Don't do that, appreciate the accomplishment, savor it, for it happens infrequently, and use it as inspiration for what you do.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Don't be a slave to the slaves of the past
As soon as you start to implement change, you will hear it, "That isn't how we have done it" or "We have always done it this way" The unstated assumption, that because it has always been done a certain way, that it is the right way. The argument against change a tautology, we can't change, because we can't change. Of course, I respect the past, and would never propose change simply for the sake of change, but the argument that we have always done it this way, is among the worst arguments one could offer against change.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
What to do when YOU want to stop?
Earlier, I wrote that as you become more successful, someone is going to want to stop you, but the time may come when you are tempted to stop on your own. Why? It may be something small like the frustration of the day. You may be tempted to give up faith in yourself or your idea. It could be something big, like the opportunity to make a real gain on your effort. Before you stop, before you give in to the temptation, think it through. Is it worth it? Is it worth giving up all you have invested or the opportunity to make a difference?
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