Did you choose which melody to play?
A new scenario for 2011
Without a doubt, 2011 brings with it countless challenges and opportunities for all of us. In the framework of the global and market economy, the differentiation and positioning factor for our clients will continue to be fundamental objectives to achieve, if we want to remain current with our products and services, and truly ALIVE for our competitors.
The macroeconomic figures reveal that the countries need to work on formulas that are associated with improving the level of employment, as well as with the recovery of sales volumes and improvement of service in the market.
How do you feel to face this challenge? Are you willing to change?
The first fundamental question for many entrepreneurs is if they already have all the internal processes aligned to achieve their highest purposes and if not, if they are willing to change and invest what is necessary to recover the credibility of their people so that they follow them in your business project.
Many purposes, much action
It is important to realize that the world is full of purposes but that few are really reached because we continue to do what we have been doing for so many years.
We have not wanted to leave our "safe zone" to venture to conquer new opportunities. " Ideas are cheap and only acquire their value when they are put into action."
It is therefore necessary to redefine the course in your Business Plan ”and ensure that your entire team follows it with enthusiasm. It requires empowering others to achieve their best results and for this they need to invest in their people. 'S time for a change in Management Leadership !
Instruments and musicians ready?
A leader in addition to knowing where he is going, knows that he must align his team of people with the processes and instruments so that he can play a good melody.
Don't leave this point to fate. Before starting to make conjectures (Business Plan), make sure that both musicians and instruments have what it takes to get where you intend, otherwise you will fail in your attempt.
Many executives gather at the top to "think for others" rather than "think WITH others" and this is one of the great mistakes made in the business world. It is necessary to involve everyone in the business design process because it will only be like this that you will be able to achieve the commitment of your entire work team and the highest aspirations of each of its members.
You have to invest what it takes to ensure everyone has the skills and abilities to go with you and ensure that your business plan becomes a reality.
Ask yourself the following question: From your top-level executives, to your operational and implementation staff, do they have the skills to ensure your dreams come true?
If not, dream no more! I suggest that you invest in this aspect before, so that you can lift anchors, otherwise your ship may be wrecked by the shocks and the complexity of the environment and your market.
It is here that you can really build a dream and this sense ensure your purposes. Complexity generates the need for highly trained and motivated people to ensure the highest performance and consequently exceed the expectations of our clients.
Remember this: Customer demands have to do with the quality and timeliness of our products and this is only done by YOUR PEOPLE.
So it is time to deploy a whole leadership strategy throughout the organization, it is time to train “Leaders Without Position” and expand your level of readiness to serve at the highest level and then you can guarantee: a) Be the provider of choice for your customers. b) Be the employer of choice for the people. c) Be the Investment chosen in the market.
Tune up the instruments and their people before you start playing!
Defining the course is not enough
While defining the direction your company will take determines the first step in getting where you want to go, you need to make sure you have the technical, financial, and human capabilities to achieve your goals. This implies aligning the internal processes in your company.
The Alignment of your business determines how far you will go in your goals.
Very often I see that when designing the Business Plan of a company they do not stop to think about the potential they have at that moment. This means that most of the plans are not really achieved and they end up doing an exercise of repeating the same old story.
We want to follow the same route as always and put aside testing the potential of our people to arrive earlier than planned. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you consider the capabilities and potential of your people when making your plan? Her capacity for improvisation? Your commitment? Budget your recognition and additional compensation for the successes you achieve along the way?
If not, don't be surprised that people leave the role of fulfilling their responsibility to their leaders.
In the case of racing cars, before launching them into competition, they are tuned, prepared and tested to ensure that they will play a worthy role, why does this not happen in the case of people?
You decide how far you go and are responsible for it! The rest are just excuses.
Prepare your people for individual and team work.
It is a fact that the sum of individual results makes the results as a team and you have to prepare your people to work in both ways, otherwise your attempts will be just that… Attempts.
Oil the complete machinery while preparing the pilot!
Be willing to acknowledge good music
To listen to good music, you have to be willing to.
It is not to the liking of many entrepreneurs to experience success because of what this implies. I will try to describe it this way: In order for us to become successful and stay on top, we are obliged to constantly change, to test our potential, and to unfold the potential of our associates.
Change for many people means leaving their state of safety and comfort to enter the terrain of adventure, and this scares more than one. We prefer to do things as we have always done them because that tells us that at least we will not take other risks that could put us in check in the face of the economic situation we are experiencing.
We have decided to be cautious because the concept of security has been ingrained in our minds since we were little.
Let me tell you that the only safe zone for you and your company is to keep moving constantly, it is to constantly experience change and this implies modifying your behavior and participation habits.
It is time to prepare people so that they can unfold their potential and their capacity for innovation for the benefit of their clients. It is time to get into the reason that the internal work of aligning your teams is more important than paying overtime to your staff because they are not fulfilling their work within the work day. Let them improvise, but prepare them to do it, empower your teams, but train them so they can receive that level of responsibility under their shoulders. And when they achieve results above their plans, PAY for it and acknowledge their results. Let motivation be the soul that drives your people's COMMITMENT to you.
Leadership is the foundation
Make enough space to train ALL the leaders of the organization, and take this budget into account from the design of your Business Plan.
Aligning leaders means the great opportunity to achieve superior individual and team commitment, it means entering the realm of disposition rather than position, and the benefit will be to remove the bourgeoisie from your company and make it more flexible to adopt the commitment to do differentiation against your competitors.
Normally and on a recurring basis, they are technically trained to receive changes in technological systems and processes and the possibility of having better people to fulfill our dreams is set aside, and this is the great difference between High Performance companies and those that they just appear to be.
If the idea is to achieve that good music can be played for our clients and that they prefer us before another orchestra, do not neglect this recommendation.
In your budget for the year, leave the necessary item to prepare your people, both individually and as a team, and once this is done, let them be, allow them to take flight.
Your customers are the indicator
Everything you do has a catalyst: Your customers. The most accurate measure of what you have in your organization is constantly evaluated in the market by your customers. Put the focus on them. As I said before, the reason for a high performance company is to become the preferred supplier of the one who buys its products and services, so do not get confused, invest in your people to be sure that the great differentiation occurs from within your company. Don't be fooled… the main problem is who is leading and you have the opportunity to change the history of your company under the following precept: “ There are no weak platoons, there are only weak leaders ”.
I wish all my readers, business friends, clients, academics, etc., the best for this year 2011 that will undoubtedly bring with it greater opportunities for change. This is the main motive of our lives if we wish to successfully fulfill our purposes. Throw away what you need and become something new.
Make up your mind to do it, your customers will thank you!
In the business world, knowing where you want to go is the first step in ensuring your success. "If you don't know where you are going you will get nowhere" Take it for granted. "Tell your people what the melody will be that you will play in your company and set the rhythm."
You can't go ahead with your Business Plan if you don't have your Organization fully Aligned. It takes good musicians and wonderful tuning for the orchestra to master the new symphony!
