The Top Characteristics That Determine Your Company's Longevity
1. Do your employees relate emotionally to your customers?
Do your customers feel that you're trying to solve their problems? Are your customers SOLD, or do they BUY? Customers buy for emotional reasons and then justify with logic.
2. Does your marketing strategy stand out?
Do you challenge the status quo? Do you do something that's so unique that customers can't help but to take notice? Does what you offer leave a memorable impression?
3. Is your company built to change?
How's your flexibility? Now more than ever, flexibility will move a company forward while the others slowly disappear. Stay nimble and keep your eyes and ears open.
4. Do your employees embrace the value of VALUES?
It's much more common today to see people buy from companies with a sense of purpose or stated cause. Everything else equal, wouldn't you?
5. Are your employees encouraged to be creative?
It’s the sparks of creativity that are often the source of solutions and new ideas. Rewarding creativity can open new and exciting doors.
6. Are you winning the battle for talent?
Probably the most critical piece! While one superior employee can turn a company around, the opposite is also true. Recognize a bad egg or even just a low performer and take immediate action. Rarely, does this type of a person become a top performer or even an adequate performer. The cost of carrying negative energy in your staff can be expediential.
7. Do you consistently use technology to raise the bar?
If you're not, your competition is. There is always a way to become more efficient, more productive, improve quality, increase quantity . . .
8. Is yours a FUN organization to do business with?
Enthusiasm is contagious! People like to spend time (and money) with those who are fun to be with. It's difficult to change a lifeless staff and turn them into Southwest Airline employees. The time to build excitement is when you're hiring. Hire for attitude. . . you can train skills.
9. Have you built a company of leaders?
Do your employees treat your business as if it was their own? Have you built a culture of accountability? Can you leave the business for two months and return to a business that is thriving instead of surviving?
Note: The above is a reprint of a recent article published by Nancy Powers, a person I consider one of the top 10 executive coaches in the country and a good friend. To learn more about Nancy and her successes, click here http://nancypowers.com/
Thursday, March 22, 2007
