Sometimes Team Success is About Harnessing the Power of Self

Voracity is a very powerful emotion that, if harnessed properly, can be both self-serving and profitable for any business. The secret is to find a way to create an environment where selfishness can and will serve two masters. How can that be done? I'm glad you asked!

Remember why you came to work today, and be honest with yourself. Your first answer (company line) is that you wanted to get started on making your company the best and most highly-respected in the nation or the world. But ask again, this time giving yourself a chance to reflect a bit further. OK, so you might have come to earn a paycheck so that you can pay the bills and possibly have a little left over to spend on yourself. The introspection continues: Will I have more income than expenses this week? Will I be able to take a vacation? Can I afford to go out to diner tonight rather than having to eat at home in front of the television? Suddenly, your honorable corporate mantra seems a little less believable. You’re horrified with yourself.

Don't be ashamed. Aligning personal goals with professional objectives is the win-win of management today. Every employee in the company must clearly understand that the way they make more money is for the company to make more money. They must understand how going the extra mile will result in their personal gain. How will they be able to improve their lives by improving the service or products the company has to offer?

Compensation plans that are too complicated or take too long from the time of service to reward are not the answer. False hope and empty promises will do more to decrease morale than any other aspect of management. Reward programs must be easy to understand, directly tied to measurable outcomes, and frequent in nature. When you start to see small increases in your pay over a short period of time it will motivate you and others to keep up the good work.

Core Beliefs by Functional Area

Strategy

• The best strategic plans are the ones that actually get executed
• The obvious is hard to do
• Good management is not a luxury and is more important in hard times
• Great companies are always defining and refining their strategy.
• You have to know why your are in business
• Great companies are constantly re-investing in themselves
• Understanding the value of taking risks is key to growth
• Well-managed companies make more money
• Organizations are as good/bad as their leaders
• Achieving shared vision and alignment is a constant struggle
• Management requires and is a discipline
• An outside view adds value, perspective can be limiting

People

• We’re all equally limited and empowered by our experiences
• Great companies have history/stories – well-defined culture
• Leadership and management go hand in hand but are not the same things
• Achieving shared vision and alignment is a constant struggle
• Great companies are constantly learning organizations
• Empowering employees to an ownership mentality is key to success
• Individuals have the potential to do great things, leaders must learn to unlock it
• Great companies have history/stories – well-defined culture
• Communication is always happening, the real question is are you a part of it?

Process

• Hard work doesn’t necessarily equal profits
• Activity is not productivity
• Process with the right amount of structure & freedom is key to success
• Tools are essential to producing work
• Quality is never a trade off
• Customers are the reason we are in business
• Marketing is not a dirty word
• Marketing is a science
• Selling doesn’t start until the potential customers say "no"
• Business doesn’t start until you sell somebody something