It’s not as if, as the owner of your business, you don’t have enough to think about. Just keeping up with the overwhelming amounts of information that bombards our email accounts daily — some of it is welcome, some isn’t — or the continual flow of business articles in traditional and on line magazines — not to mention the ‘flavor the month’ business book that is touted to turn your ordinary business into a great business overnight.
As business owners we have plenty of choices when it comes to reading about how to increase our profitability or engage our employees or improve performance.
Over the last few years, I kept noticing one thing that seemed to separate high performing enterprises from those that are still aspiring to reach or maximize their goals. You may be thinking, ‘She’s talking about an innovative application of resources or an ability to executive a clearly defined plan or maybe a way to leverage a company’s unique competitive advantage.’
The one differentiating factor that seemed to separate high performing companies from the rest of the pack was so ordinary that it tends to slip by even the most astute business thinker.
The differentiating factor was the ability of a leader to SEE and THINK about their enterprises differently. They seemed able to probe into their companies with what I would call ’soft’ eyes that looked past the surface issues. The leadership of these firms were passionate, actually insistent, about things that others would deem unimportant or secondary to the work of the work, the business of business, or other classic drivers of performance.
This may sound odd, particularly for those of you who are concrete, nuts and bolts business operators who live and breathe in the everyday reality of ‘getting stuff done’.
The leaders of those high performing companies were more interested in seeing and understanding what was going on BEHIND the work, BEHIND the customer, BEHIND the workings of a team, BEHIND the numbers.
These leaders were looking ‘under the covers’ of their company for the truth.
They were in fact, looking for the truth about their businesses and weren’t interested in accepting the surface conclusions, the surface solutions, the surface assumptions that rolled their way.
They believed that what was required of them, in order to have a vivid appreciation of the things that sustained their business, was to look deeper into the truths behind their company’s growth.
I believe these 10 perspectives, or qualities are not standard faire when it comes to talking about growing a successful business. But CEOs who want to differentiate themselves and create companies that will outlive them, must open their minds to SEEING and THINKING about their companies differently.
1. Demonstration of Intention — drives to identify and articulate company goals, and a company vision and is intent on understanding the potential reach of the enterprise
2. Fostering of Community — proactively leads the pursuit of common goals, values and vision as a normal aspect of operations, not a once a year event
3. Discovery of Meaning — pursues new frontiers of how each individual in the organization derives meaning from their work
4. Communication of Clarity — pursues the clear and consistent communication of the company’s operations, expectations and strategic goals
5. Quantification of Performance — uncovers ways to measure and realize the surpassing of targeted goals and initiatives
6. Opportunity for Learning — pursues the knowledge necessary to bring the company into new and beneficial fields of opportunity
7. Steward of Freedom — through creating opportunity, drives for more personal and organizational freedom
8. Teacher of Accountability — insists that each individual own the responsibility of their actions and allows for the acceptance of mistakes when those mistakes foster learning
9. Manifestation of Values — promotes values and cultural norms that advance the spirit of the organization
10. Discipline of Creativity — advances and rewards the expansion of creative innovation for the betterment of the company
Keeping an open mind as to how these 10 Perspectives might actually propel a company to bring in more revenue and more profitability is a sign of a leader who believes in the fundamental value of always searching out the truth.