Results Rule!
by
Randy Pennington
From your customer's point of view, you are either a hero, a has-been, or a wanna-be.
Has-been companies have never acknowledged that we live in a "Me Too" world where products and services are commodities. Their operational motto - we're as good as the other guy - is their undoing.
To coin an old Texas saying, Wanna-be companies are all hat and no cattle. They understand that customers are asking, "Why you? Why now? What makes you relevant?" They hold study groups on the latest books and bring in the top gurus to pump up the troops. But, the wanna-be's never quite turn good intentions into action.
Hero companies stay connected to customers, employees, and even entire communities. Excellence is the norm. Details are rarely overlooked. They make people say "WOW!" at every turn. Their strategic advantage is a Results Rule! culture where every employee takes ownership for delivering value at a profit year after year after year.
Which type of company are you? If you are unsure, look at the numbers. The marketplace never lies - Results Rule!
Results Rule! Cultures: More than Great Service
People make business work. A compelling corporate culture is the intangible that provides a sustainable competitive advantage. It is the tool for winning the hearts, minds, and commitment of people. And, it is a key to long-term results in a "Me Too" world.
Technology, value chains, distribution models, and even product innovations have their place. But, it is the culture that allows you to quickly implement strategic change in anticipation of or reaction to market shifts; attract and retain top talent; and provide a valuable uniqueness in the marketplace.
On the surface, the market heroes make it appear effortless. Behind the scenes, a defined set of belief and behaviors are at work. Results Rule! cultures are characterized by:
- A set of organizational beliefs, assumptions, and values supporting a commitment to results, relationships both externally and internally, and accountability
- Leaders and managers modeling specific behaviors, attitudes, and skills that produce long-term voluntary commitment across the enterprise
- Employees at every level taking ownership for turning customers into valued partners and doing what's right
- Mutual respect, cooperation, and a high degree of trust between individuals and their managers, teams, and departments
- Alignment of individual, team, and departmental goals with the organization's strategic business objectives
- Continuous improvement and innovation - both large and small - at every level of the organization to improve effectiveness and efficiency
- A work environment that attracts quality talent and retains top performers who appreciate the opportunity to succeed
Building a Culture that Delivers Results
Definitions of corporate culture are as plentiful as professional athletes with a shoe contract. I define it as "the way we do things around here that communicates what we really believe about people, performance, and productivity." An organizational culture cannot be installed like a new software program. Leaders nurture and guide it through constant commitment and attention. Here are seven strategies you can implement immediately.
- Identify and deliver your valuable uniqueness
Companies producing long-term results identify and deliver a valuable uniqueness in the mind of the customer. For some organizations the difference is service level. For others it is product innovation or being the low-cost provider. There is something that makes your operation unique. You must identify and deliver it to capture attention in the marketplace.
Operating a successful restaurant is tough. The hours are long. The margins are thin, and customers' taste change in a heartbeat. Richard Melman and his partner Jerry Orzoff opened a burger joint called R.J. Grunts in 1971. Today, Lettuce Entertain You owns and licenses nearly seventy-five restaurants in the U.S. and Japan. The company delivers consistent results that make it an industry leader.
Melman's company knows that quality and service are the fundamentals required of everyone. And, it understands its valuable uniqueness in the marketplace. Melman says, "We've had the ability to give people what they want almost before they know they want it. You can call it trendsetting. I prefer to call it the ability to listen to people."
What is your valuable uniqueness in the marketplace that engages your staff and allows you to stand out with your customers?
- Hire "your" people
It is hard to believe that gourmet ice cream is a "Me Too" product, but the marketplace is crowded and the competition is stiff. Enter Amy's Ice Cream with profit growth of approximately 20% per year. Amy's sells entertainment with a side order of great ice cream. Stepping into Amy's is like attending an improvisational theater where the show constantly changes and the audience always participates.
Amy's Ice Cream could not be successful without the right people. Delivering the Amy's experience requires creativity, spontaneity, and energy. And, those are precisely the traits the company looks for in applicants.
Every company has a right fit for its culture. The traits that make someone a star at Amy's Ice Cream could result in disaster at another company. Nuclear power plants do not hire plant operators who do something crazy just to make things fun.
What are the traits and competencies needed to make your culture work and help your company produce the desired results?
- Focus on performance, set specific goals, and measure everything
Average call-handling time, customer service level, and grade of service level are three important metrics in the call center industry. George Hess, a veteran telecom executive and client at Sprint, MFS, and CapRock Communications, believed there were others.
George also measured the number and type of conversations supervisors held with employees each month. In the process, he discovered two very important lessons: (1) measuring supervisor interactions with employees reinforced the culture he was working to create and (2) the type of conversations supervisors have with employees this month are a leading indicator of business performance in the months ahead.
Results occur when you inspect what you expect. Cultures that deliver consistent results define the desired performance, set specific goals, and measure everything related to those goals.
Are performance goals and measures communicated clearly in your operation? How about the "soft" goals related to relationships? Are you measuring the results that matter?
- Build systems to support skills and attitudes
Ask any Sewell Motors customer what sets the company apart, and the answer will be service. The response will be the same if you ask a Sewell employee.
The Sewell team has created a culture that takes service to legendary levels in pursuit of business results. Their secret is a combination of smiles and systems. Jaquita McKinney is one of the best service professionals I have ever met. Her attitude is outstanding, and she does the little things to make you feel valued as a customer.
Her smiles are important and, ultimately, meaningless without a system to ensure the service is delivered as promised. Sewell operates a state-of-the-art parts inventory and control system to enable Jaquita and her teammates to create customers for life.
Systems create habits in organizations, and habits are a driving force for influencing the culture. Skills and concepts can be taught. You can even create momentum (and a few smiles) through inspiration. But the impact of skills and inspiration is minimal if there are no systems in place to reinforce and support their use.
What systems do you need to support the skills and attitudes of your staff? Implementing great systems allows your organization to turn its good intentions into action every day.
- Engage the heart and inspire the mind
Anyone can duplicate your product. Copying your employees is another story.
Results Rule! companies excel at engaging the hearts and inspiring the minds of their staff.
Southwest Airlines' employees are nuts about providing low fares, great customer service, and reliable flights. Amy's Ice Cream employees are wild about providing a unique customer experience. Harley Davidson employees are passionate about building great motorcycles.
The engagement begins with providing a cause. Jobs are a means to collect a pay check. We become volunteer patriots for a cause that excites our ability to accomplish something important.
Mary Kay Cosmetics calls it living the life of your dreams -where you can have unlimited earning potential and the freedom to achieve within a community of women and without sacrificing family.
The leader's willingness to help individuals succeed provides continued motivation and creates an environment where performance is a matter of choice.
When was the last time your staff took a collection to buy you a plaque? Did it say, "Boss of the Year?"
That's what happened to Dennis Ross, a front-line leader at CapRock Communications. He is a great example of helping people succeed. Cheryl Swann, Dennis's manager, described him this way, "Employees say, 'I want Dennis. He treats me like a person. He's fair. He helps me when I'm struggling, and he recognizes my accomplishments."
Dennis puts it this way, "Employees recognize that I'm here for more than the money. I'm here when they get to work. I'm here when they leave. If I don't have the answer, I will find the answer I can encourage someone to do better, and they know we are serious because it is the policy. But you must have a heart as well."
- Learn and grow or perish
Past success proves you were right once. You don't necessarily have to change. You do have to continually adapt every day.
Bicycle Bill's website proudly announces that Schwinn bicycles are back. This begs the question, "Where did they go?"
Schwinn never really went away. It simply lost its relevance for a while. It was slow to embrace the new expectations in its marketplace. Like many companies, Schwinn suffered from a temporary case of 3-D Vision.
3-D Vision - Denial, Distortion, and Delusion - is a leading cause of failure. Its symptoms are out-of-date products and services, erosion of market share, increased pricing pressures, and an inability to compete.
The cure is simple and often painful - the continuous search for and acknowledgement of the truth.
Does your organization readily accept the truth about its products, services, and relationships? Is there a tendency to shoot messengers? Are incentive systems designed to discourage or encourage people to speak up?
Results Rule! organizations stay hungry. They know they are only as good as their ability to stay relevant to changing customer needs.
- Show the courage of accountability
Respect - Integrity - Communication - Excellence.
These words could appear in the values statements of any organization. They happen to be from Enron's 2000 Annual Report.
The ability to turn intention into action requires accountability at every level.
One manager noted the following about his organization, "The biggest problem we have around here is that no one will take responsibility for anything. But don't quote me on that."
Results Rule! leaders love winning, and they hate to lose in both the short and long-term. As a result they choose the best over the easiest in their personal performance and in the performance of the organization. They follow-through on commitments. They build lasting relationships, and they confront performance that does not meet expectations.
The willingness to confront unacceptable performance in a positive manner is the mark of a leader who values both results and relationships. Results Rule! leaders earn the credibility to hold others accountable because they take responsibility.
Charles Prince, CEO of Citigroup, sums it well, "Every month you get your bowling score. And you did will or you did poorly. And at the end of a period of time, which is not a long period, we decide whether you did a good job or a bad job."
That is the reality of competing in a "Me Too" world. It is why a compelling culture is the intangible that moves you from being a has-been or wanna-be to a hero in the mind of your customer. It is why Results Rule!
Copyright© 2006 Randy G. Pennington. All rights reserved.
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