Today, more than ever, differentiating from the competition has become an obsession for many companies, however the key value of differentiation is not being found since their vision is focused on competing rather than on looking different from their rivals.
Differentiating yourself from your competition requires unleashing the potential of your people to serve at the highest level
During the last few months, I have had the opportunity to talk with executives from different companies sadly listening to the same laments regarding the havoc caused by the recent economic turmoil.
For many of them, the effect of the CRISIS has not passed, however they continue to justify the low financial results for market purposes and on the issue of high operating costs. How to compete like that? Some of them commented to me.
My answer has been simple: Stand out from your Competitors! . However, in order to do so, they have to abandon their old paradigms. There is the key! Because it is the terrain where nobody wants to get into, as it implies making changes at the level of their management and leadership.
The central theme is to design the new culture of the organization and this also requires investing in people so that they not only acquire greater knowledge and skills, but are also willing to contribute their potential to achieve the purpose and vision of the business.
But how can we unleash the potential of our people when we don't give them the opportunity to do so? How can we reach acceptable levels of trust with our team in order to empower them?
Without a doubt, this decision makes you think about Investing for people and being honest, you are not always willing to do it.
Admit that for you, people have not been a priority until now. The true differentiation arises from Innovation, but this occurs when people are committed to their leader and their business vision, when they have the confidence to "Think, Design, Make and Fine-Tune" their ideas to put them into action.
The best levels of execution are achieved when people have been correctly led and human processes have been correctly Aligned with the Business Plan or vision of the Company. Stop complaining! and drive the value of change, modify internal processes and resolve to make a difference.
I am not lying when I say that many executives decide to change when environmental conditions force them to do so, rather than take the initiative for change and this puts them at a clear disadvantage compared to their competitors. If you really want to differentiate your Leadership! is the exit route.
To differentiate yourself requires counting on the will of your people
“The secret of success is not in discovering new lands using old maps. We have to learn to see our company from another perspective, with different eyes, and position it where it should be ”.
"High Performance companies are constantly focused on getting their customers' preference, but they know that this can only be achieved if they treat their people well."
There is no greater certainty than this. Seeking to position yourself in the minds of your customers and become the favorite option for them requires that within your organization people are committed to the same purpose, but they will only make it possible if they are treated correctly.
Hundreds of Organizational Climate studies show that the factors in which people are most dissatisfied in companies are aspects related to Treatment, Communication, Development possibilities, Respect and Good Relationships. However, despite this, little is done about it and this affects the result with clients, as a result of bad internal work.
There are thousands and thousands of tools to focus people to do the right thing, however it continues to happen that your company does not differ from the others. Why? You have already invested in systems, in new methods and in ways to make your goals happen.
It even installed the famous Control Panel (Balanced Scored Card) as part of its processes, and what good is it? when the only thing these indicators reflect is that the results that they had planned to achieve are not being achieved. What a pity! Counting on the will of the people requires much more than implementing a new process or technological system. It demands a real change and transformation in the Management of its Leadership and of all those who have people in charge.
It requires the leadership of all members of the organization to perform a superior service deployment that aims to achieve the highest degree of satisfaction with those who receive our product or service on a daily basis.
The central theme of High Performance organizations has to do with unleashing the potential of people to put it, at their own will, at the service of others. That simple
Today is the time to review how we are doing in relation to that Business Plan that we designed before starting the year. The first quarter of the year (first quarter) is gone and we can calculate our closing trends, we can know how we will fare if we do not internally correct what is blocking our way.
Look and review and you will find that in your leadership field (including yourself) there is much to do. Don't stop now, it's time to CONGRUENTLY act to achieve your goals and purposes at the end of the exercise.
"In order to develop new business models, we must start by questioning our current mental model."
When we decide to unleash the potential of our people, we have to be prepared to "throw away" our old beliefs and paradigms. We have such a level of thinking ingrained in the memory of the company that we immediately tend to stifle any ideas that do not match our mental makeup.
Paradigms are usually very dangerous, especially if they come from actions that have worked for us in the past because then we do not want to abandon them and we become arrogant in the face of changes. We resist them because they have become the only escape route to the new environment that exists in the market and therefore clouds the possibility of having another vision regarding the new opportunities.
Do you realize that every "CRISIS" the first thing that most of the Directors in the Companies think about is to shake off part of their people? It is a very “tailor-made” paradigm for your shortsightedness. They prefer to bleed their bodies by eliminating the best they have for themselves. The potential of its people. Whats the matter, then? Who will make it possible to participate successfully in the face of the complexity of changes in the market and the environment?
The best thing you have is not your equipment, although it appears to represent a good sum in your financial statements. The best thing you have is your customers and they expect to get the best of the company and the best of it is in the minds of the people who do everything possible.
Train, improve, change, maybe this call is on time before the end of the exercise and you can no longer reach your goals because it is too late.
Commitment
If you are one of those who only have your power to assign tasks and force them to do the work, you may not reach the objectives, and if you do, they will not be Consistent. Managing for Terror has never paid off on a regular basis.
"As long as we do not change our mental process and understand that our results are the results of our collaborators, we will continue to obtain the same as always." Lic. Jorge A. Arias Romero.
"We are as we are, because we are as we are." Güemess.
