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A High Performance Company
What differentiates a good company from a great company? As I heard the other day, “good is the enemy of great.” So true. But being a good company is not a bad thing, and most companies are just that. Moving to the next level requires work, discipline and consistency.
There are three specific characteristics that set a company apart from the average and from just being “good.” A great company must have
Clear Vision, must be made-up of High Performing Teams and must have a Disciplined culture. This blog discusses the first characteristic.
Clear Vision
Companies with clear vision have a compelling mission statement and employees that
understand why the company exists. They plan for the future with specific goals, understand their
brand and what makes them different, and finally, they give back to their communities through a
culture of civic engagement.
A mission that is supported by guiding principles, or core values, describes what matters to the
leaders of the company, and when a company’s mission is understood and believed, it provides a
blueprint for decision making. The mission statement, in a simple sentence, should articulate the
company’s overarching goal, what it does and who it works with. The guiding principles explain
how the mission is going to be accomplished and what is important to the leaders of the
company.
I like to compare a company’s vision to a sailboat about to leave on a long sailing trip. The
company needs to have an idea where it may want to be 10 years out. Obviously, there are an
incredible number of obstacles to overcome—some that can be controlled and others, such as
the economy, impossible to predict. But if you are sailing to China, you better be heading west.
Next, the company needs to have in place some very achievable three-year goals based on
today’s capabilities, human capital and services. You are not only going west, but you have a
destination in mind, say Hawaii.
And last, the company’s one-year goals need to be crystal clear, with action plans in place to
achieve them and a time frame for each of the goals. You have set sail, you have your
coordinates locked-in and will adjust as needed while keeping your sights in the destination.
Unfortunately, many companies lack a rudder and can’t even get out of the harbor. They are
unfocused, without a clear understanding of who they are, where they want to go and how to get
there.
High performing companies have a deep understanding of their brand and their differentiation in
the market. Brand is the soul of a company, it is everything in a company, from how the
receptionist answers the phone to the on-hold music to the CEO’s last company communication
to the products developed and the services offered. Brand includes the last marketing campaign,
how clients are viewed, how employees are treated, how the office looks and how much you
share with the community. Brand is the Alpha and the Omega.
The best definition of brand I’ve heard is “brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product or a
service, and when enough people get the same feeling, then you have a brand.” So brand should
evoke an emotional response from the person receiving the message. Think about Nike,
WalMart, The Ritz or Apple—each creates an emotional connection with what they do:
•Nike: “just do it”
•WalMart: low prices
•The Ritz: personal service
•Apple: leading innovator
Do you know your brand? Can you articulate it in a couple of words? Do you have the pieces in
place to support it? High performance companies do.
And lastly, these companies are committed to the communities in which they exist. They sponsor
events and contribute time, talent and treasure as part of their mission. The leaders are involved
and lead nonprofit boards, the Chamber, community initiatives, education programs, civic groups,
church activities and others. They have a deep understanding and desire to share and to give
back to others less fortunate. In return, they are admired, respected and trusted by the
communities they serve, and loved internally by the employees they support.
Like a sailboat with a captain and crew, a high performance company needs to be led by a
visionary leader who is supported by team members that trust each other, hold each other
accountable and are passionate about what they do. I will go into the essentials of a high
performing team in more detail next time.