FROM GOOD TO GREAT – PART 2

If you missed Part 1 of this series you can check it out at www.thetowncommon.com. We were talking about what separates the good from the great businesses……no matter what business you are in. This was derived from my recent re-reading of Jim Collin’s classic book “Good To Great: Why some companies make the leap….and others don’t.”

The key currency for any business is not the paper kind; it is intellectual capital. For any business to be successful, intellectual capital must be unleashed. When people are asked how much of their brainpower they actually use, a common response is 20%. The actual percentage is estimated to be much lower. Leaders understand this. They recognize that one of their major challenges is to unleash the latent intellectual capital that already resides within every employee in their organization. In part, this is accomplished by establishing a culture of learning within a business.

Business culture consists of people’s unquestioned assumptions and habits. Culture drives employee behavior. A culture that supports and celebrates learning is essential to developing human capital and releasing the brainpower that already exists within the team. Exceptional leaders help employees to understand that being a continuous student is not an option. It is an expectation!

Even in the best businesses, the journey through change can run into difficulty. Challenges will arise. Failures can occur. The unexpected may happen. Clarity is replaced by cloudiness, and the group becomes lost. This is not uncommon.

But when it happens, exceptional leaders step in and refocus the group. Through their words and actions, they help people to reconnect with the core values of the business. They bring the group back to the meaning and spirit of its purpose. They also review the vision of the business, and help employees to become reconnected with this preferred picture and direction.

As a result, the group finds its way again, and clarity is restored. Refocusing can also be an energizing process, and one of its great byproducts is a sense of renewal.

So, in review, the keys for any business to move from good to great include the following: the ability to deal with the unknown, defining and modeling core values, the leader of the business setting the tone, attracting and retaining employees, unleashing intellectual capital, and the ability to refocus the business in times of change.

These keys are especially important in times like these. Solid businesses which have strong core values, a good leader and good employees are in cruise control during economic downturns. Certain aspects of the business may be down, but the core business remains steady because the fundamental values of the business are strong.

Businesses that have achieved greatness don’t remain idle. They realize that the life of the business is work in progress and are constantly striving for improvement. New technology, continuing education and new techniques are all great, but they must fit into the core principles of the business. Great businesses do not deviate from this. That is what separates the good from the great.

Have a great holiday!