Being Great...it's not an option... it's an imperative in order to be successful in a business world that has changed forever. To build a great business firstly requires leaders who possess a great mindset:
· Optimism
· Positive Mental attitude
· Looking for opportunities
· Prosperity thinking rather than scarcity thinking
· Focus and Discipline
· Clear definition of vision, goals, strategy and culture
No matter where you are right now with your business, your career or in your life you can and must change in order to achieve the outcome you wish, because what got you here today will no longer get you to where you truly want to go tomorrow... The greatest discovery of our generation is that a person can alter their life simply by altering their attitude of mind, so do not choose to settle for an ordinary business or an ordinary life; choose to be the best you can be, build a great business and lead a fulfilled life... Change is not hard it is simply a matter of attitude, taking one small step at a time becasue you do not have to do extraordinary things in order to get extraordinary results.
The biggest danger, in this or in any economy is therefore complacency; not to evolve as a leader or as a company. Let's consider our current economy:
· Markets have not disappeared completely...
· Unemployment is high but Employment is much higher...
· Some markets have decreased...
· Some markets are still growing...
· Some markets are contrarian...
· Outsourced/Leveraged service providers are hot...
· Waiting for the economy makes no sense and is fatal!
· Many of your competitors have or will fail...
· You must fight harder for your fair and even harder for your unfair share...
· Investing in your business is not an option it is essential!
· The economy has always cycled back and will again...
· The Game though has changed forever...
What's actually happened to many businesses since 2008 is that owners, executives and professionals have become paralysed. No doubt this follows the normal reaction to any recession, which is to stop a lot of things you have been doing and batten down the hatches waiting for the business and economy to come back. As always it comes back to mindset, in other words whither you believe you have a choice or not.... You can either choose to be inactive and reactive or you can choose to be proactive, creative and innovative but be aware the doing nothing strategy leads to loss of customers and sales. Have you postured yourself with a Strategy to "sustain, invest and flourish" now or a "wait and see" Strategy for when the economy turns around! The truth is recessions are cyclical and this current economy is the opportunity of our life times... so you don't have too much longer to take advantage of it. Now is the time to invest in your people, your marketing, and your business so that by the time your competition have un-battened their hatches you will be miles ahead of the game in your market place.
Great Company Case Study - Zappos.com, (1 Billion turnover in 10 years) "At Zappos Customer Service Is Everything. In Fact, It's The Entire Company! We've been asked by a lot of people how we've grown so quickly, and the answer is actually really simple... We've aligned the entire organization and culture around one mission: to provide the best customer service possible. Internally, we call this our WOW philosophy. As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the Zappos core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies.
These are the ten core values that we live by:"
Deliver WOW Through Service. Embrace and Drive Change - Create Fun and A Little Weirdness - Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open Minded -Pursue Growth and Learning - Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication - Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit - Do More With Less - Be Passionate and Determined - Be Humble.
Fortune 100 - Best companies to work for 2009-2010 - What makes them great summary feedback: Culture, Values, Learning, Fun, Training, Team, Creative, Innovative, Great Perks/Benefits
Inc. 500 List of fastest growing company - Trends: Influence, Relevant, Passion, Innovation, Niche, Focus, Speed, Culture, Values, Leadership, Investment in team, Whatever it takes attitude.
Download: My Top Tips and Challanges to Make A Great Business.
What has to change now in your business?
What is Your Commitment to Being a "Great" Company?
