Competitive advantage is not the determining factor of success. It is the people who fight the battles and who win. And the most important person fighting the battle is the leader.
Many Executives think that just by having technological advantages their success is assured. This is usually the biggest mistake of many companies, because the market value is equivalent to the level of customer satisfaction and this level is the perception that our business is formed by the service they receive from their collaborators.
How to treat your customers well?
As Sun Tzu says, and I agree, "the ideal general wins the battle before the fight begins, but this depends on the character he develops over time."
I have affirmed that character is the foundation of leadership and the people who possess it become superior leaders. Therein lies your true competitive advantage!
Senior leaders, then, are the important piece in victory, but they work with and for each of the members of their team and align the whole in a single vision and purpose. Once this is done, they lead the actions of the entire team fully aligned with the vision.
"Competitive advantage and differentiation at a higher level is achieved only by testing the potential of your people." That is to say, ENCOURAGING others.
If you want to win over customers, win over your people first
You cannot aspire to have a High Performance team, when people are not treated at the best possible level. If you want to achieve a superior result through people, there must be a direct correlation in the treatment they receive from you. Respect for people is required to be able to do something extraordinary with them and in this sense, FACULATE is the Key. And this means giving you the opportunity to use your full potential.
If you want to achieve superior results, it is logical that we must allow people to use their knowledge, experience and motivation and that implies only one thing. Allow them and trust them. Many people ask me if Empowerment is “Empowering the People”. Normally I resist this definition, because I consider that the "Power" of people is already within them, innate or acquired, but they already have it, so in this sense there is not much to do. What the company requires is to allow that power to be unleashed and used for the benefit of the organization and of course its Clients.
And for this it is also necessary for leaders to fight against themselves, because it is habit and tradition and in many cases the state of comfort that makes this potential I speak of remain stored in the HR area file.
Empowerment requires an atmosphere and climate that unleashes the knowledge, experience, and motivation that reside in people, so if you want your customers to maintain a high perceived value of your products and service, trust your people and treat them as the Crown Jewel so that they can realize their dreams and purpose in the market.
The struggle for leadership
Countless people ask me where is the space in which the battle is fought to obtain the leadership in the market. In appearance it is in the market itself. However I think differently.
For the conditions that allow the full potential of a company to be fulfilled, the will and decision of the maximum leader in the company are required. This is where people's potential is allowed or not to be unleashed or limited.
And it does not end there, since not necessarily with the fact of making the decision everything is already given in addition. It is also required to ensure that the entire organizational structure allows it.
Great battles are fought every day between the Management level and their Area Managers in charge, and between them and their middle managers. There are those who assure that an excess of control will give order and internal discipline and therefore they focus their energies in elaborating policies and procedures, that the only thing that they provoke is to nationalize and discourage the deployment of the potential of the people in order to maintain the "Internal Control".
There are those who also pretend to measure everything to guarantee that the sales, cost and business forecasts are being met quantitatively, and worse still without letting people know what they are trying to achieve, as if the indicators moved by the grace of God.
Get the idea that your indicators are driven by the actions of your people and only when people are prepared to reach their full potential will they be able to realize your vision and your Business Plan. We have to ensure within the Business, that the fight between the base of its collaborators and the people "in charge", is won by the former, only then will it have the possibility of having a capable company, flexible to changes in the environment and willing to differentiate.
Only by being different can we obtain different things. Get out of your "status quo" and abandon the old belief that keeping things safe is your chance for success.
"If all is well, do better."
To keep pace with change, a fundamental change in our thinking is also necessary. All the facts, ideas and beliefs of the past are being challenged and questioned by the whole society. We have to learn to get out of the ordinary, as this will be the only guarantee of staying at the top in the future.
On countless occasions I have argued that change is the only constant in life, and it usually happens so quickly that all our ideas and beliefs permanently totter into antiquities with almost imperceptible speed.
The only guarantee of business success depends on your ability to change, and this is precisely what most people fear. In the business world, this is no exception, as companies are becoming a barrel of regrets for what is happening in the global arena, ensuring that people's minds, capacities and abilities remain in a constant state. state of "consistent fear."
It is important to initiate changes when they do not seem necessary, because only then can you get ahead of others, otherwise you will be reacting to them and this may be costing you a lot of money for the time lost so much in making the decision to change, as in the process of implementing the change.
You must learn to move before others move you and this requires your leadership.
Give up the idea that you are fine and act fast because while I am telling you this paragraph, believe it, the world is turning and customers are changing in their needs and requests, or perhaps supplier.
As long as you don't prepare your Team for the change, it will surely be taking advantage of you. I will always insist on the issue of leadership because I am convinced that within us it is the ideal place to unfold our potential, and this decision that appears to be individually also applies to the work of High Performance Teams.
Don't put out the fire that others have already lit!
Once change is not a cause for fear, people get used to seeing it head-on.
At the moment that you as a leader turn out to be the driving force behind the whole movement and decide to work with your team, you ignite the strength of each of its members and they want to see you with enough character to keep this flame burning during good times. and complexity.
It has become the engine of their lives, and it can no longer be stopped. Appeal to your character and inner strength, keep moving, and stay alert to changes in the environment so you can anticipate them.
It is the moment to BE CONGRUENT with the purpose and vision that you have raised. Your actions as a leader will be permanently evaluated by your collaborators, and depending on your results, you will or will not have them with you to achieve your purposes.
It is discouraging to see business leaders break down in the eyes of others when they miss their personal and professional commitments. When they put their particular interests before the interests of their clients and collaborators, and believe me, they abound in the middle.
They demand a high level of commitment to their clients, high levels of product quality without giving the development and growth of the people who are responsible for this task.
They stick to technology, they stick to technical knowledge, but they never ensure that the will of the people becomes the lifeblood of their business. They apparently convince their teams to go with them, and in the middle of the year, they are firing several of their members, under the pretext that they are not in tune with the company's plans. Nothing more false than this, as I said before, "if you intend to play a true symphony" you have to prepare your entire team to be able to play it, and this also implies rehearsing with them, directing, training, motivating and empowering them to bring out the best. of themselves and put it at the service of others. Don't put out the fire!
Once the flame that moves people is lit, let it burn, because that motivation of meaning is what will give you the possibility to unleash the full potential of your people.
When you put out this fire, the great contributions, the great ideas, the most absolute resolutions and the intention to cooperate with your business leave. Do not think that having significant gains in a year is synonymous with permanent success. When you are delighted with the surplus you look for reasons to discard new ideasof others. So learn that you can't do everything yourself, and that is why you must also learn to select and have the best team with you. This also means making strong decisions when it comes to people. If only one of the members of your Executive Team does not allow creativity and innovation to emerge, clinging to old paradigms to control the business, think no more, Change Person! Look for people who encourage others to put their full potential at the service of others and include in this motivation and a great attitude of service.
Great battles are won on the field itself, and it is through your entire army. He will follow and make victory possible, if he is perfectly focused, directed, trained, developed, motivated and empowered to do what must be done where his talent is required.
Be encouraged to be part of the executives who are making a big difference, emerging every day as successful men and women. Being different. Prepare your teams consistently and don't allow yourself to bleed out with people who leave your business because they don't find a reason for growth in it. It is people who give us the opportunity to live not only with financial peace of mind, with product quality, with good market share, but with dignity.
Staying at the top is a commitment that we must all have in front of ourselves, if we want to achieve true satisfaction of our clients and their preference on a constant basis. Your Leadership is the only way to achieve the highest purposes of your organization.
As always, you decide.
