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The Heart of Business Strategy:
48 Things That Matter
We usually think of business strategy as some sort of aspirational market positioning statement. Doubtless that's part of it. But I believe that the number one "strategic strength" is excellence in execution and systemic relationships (i.e., with everyone we come in contact with). Hence I offer the following 48 pieces of advice for creating a winning strategy that is inherently sustainable:
• "Thank you." Minimum several times a day. Measure it.
• "Thank you" to everyone even peripherally involved in some activity—especially those "deep in the hierarchy."
• Smile. Work on it.
• Apologize. Even if "they" are "mostly" to blame.
• Jump all over those who play the "blame game."
• Hire enthusiasm.
• Low enthusiasm. No hire. Any job.
• Hire optimists. Everywhere. ("Positive outlook on life," not mindless optimism.)
• Hiring: Would you like to go to lunch with him-her. 100% of jobs.
• Hire for good manners.
• Do not reject "trouble makers"—that is those who are uncomfortable with the status quo.
• Expose all would-be hires to something unexpected-weird. Observe their reaction.
• Overwhelm response to even the smallest screw-ups.
• Become a student of all you will meet with. Big time.
• Hang out with interesting new people. Measure it.
• Lunch with folks in other functions. Measure it.
• Listen. Hear. Become a serious student of listening-hearing.
• Work on everyone's listening skills. Practice.
• Become a student of information extraction-interviewing.
• Become a student of presentation giving. Formal. Short and spontaneous.
• Incredible care in 1st line supervisor selection.
• World's best training for 1st line supervisors.
• Construct small leadership opportunities for junior people within days of starting on the job.
• Insane care in all promotion decisions.
• Promote "people people" for all managerial jobs. Finance-logistics-R&D as much as, say, sales.
• Hire-promote for demonstrated curiosity. Check their past commitment to continuous learning.
• Small "d" diversity. Rich mixes for any and all teams.
• Hire women. Roughly 50% women on exec team.
• Exec team "looks like" customer population, actual and desired.
• Focus on creating products for and selling to women.
• Focus on creating products for and selling to boomers-geezers.
• Work on first and last impressions.
• Walls display tomorrow's aspirations, not yesterday's accomplishments.
• Simplify systems. Constantly.
• Insist that almost all material be covered by a 1-page summary. Absolutely no longer.
• Practice decency.
• Add "We are thoughtful in all we do" to corporate values list. Number 1 force for customer loyalty, employee satisfaction.
• Make some form of employee growth (for all) a formal part of values set. Above customer satisfaction. Steal from RE/MAX: "We are a life success company."
• Flowers.
• Celebrate "small wins." Often. Perhaps a "small win of the day."
• Manage your calendar religiously: Does it accurately reflect your espoused priorities?
• Use a "calendar friend" who's not very friendly to help you with this.
• Review your calendar: Work assiduously on your "To don'ts"—stuff that distracts.
• Bosses, especially near the top: Formally cultivate one advisor whose role is to tell you the truth. Regularly!
• Commit to Excellence.
• Talk up Excellence.
• Put "Excellence in all we do" in the values set.
• Measure everyone on demonstrated commitment to Excellence.
You'll find a longer version of this as a PDF—it includes two Appendices.
(Above, windblown trees near Farewell Spit, NZ.)
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Comments
49. Answer your own damned phone.
50. Exec team work the front-line one week a year.
51. Give people room to screw up.
52. Don't let the system get in the way of delivering service.
53. If the system doesn't work for the customers. throw it out.
54. Performance-based pay for everyone, from CEO down. Low customer Stat. No profit, No bonuses. Period.
55. Don't treat your customers like walking wallets.
56. Go to your customers sites.
57. Randomly call your customers - little and big, to see how you're doing. (CEO/Exec. staff meetings should have this as a regular assignment/follow-up activity.)
58. Don't have meetings for the sake of meetings.
59. Can the internal Powerpoint pontifications to each other. Go talk to customers.
60. Talk about your "corporate ethics" less and practice them more.
61. EVERYONE starts in an entry-level, front-line position, works there at least six months. Paid accordingly.
Posted by Mary Schmidt at February 26, 2009 12:39 PM
Mary- great additions- Especially 50 and 61!
It all happens at the front line or it doesn't happen at all.
Posted by Lois Gory at February 26, 2009 1:36 PM
I totally agree with Lois - well done Mary.
As far as I’m concerned the credibility of managers is as great or as small as the faith vested in them by their followers. Front liners see through BS quicker than the speed of light. I wrote something 2 years ago giving practical tips to implement simplicity in organisations – here are a few as they appear to be in line with Mary’s thoughts.
*After you’ve written your next report ask two people who are paid significantly less than you to tell you honestly if they understood it fully
*Make time in your diary every week to ask a customer to tell you in their own words about their recent experience of your company
*At all team meetings ask someone to do a 5 minute presentation called “My big simplicity idea for our team is …..” (PowerPoint not allowed)
*Invite a customer to read 3 e-mails or letters you have sent in the previous week and ask them to give you feedback about the language you used
*Invite two 16 year old college students to attend your team meeting. Ask them to give team members feedback at the end of the meeting about the language used
Posted by Trevor Gay at February 26, 2009 3:29 PM
Ah, this is a wonderful list; it's great for the individual and the group. Thank you, TP.
"Smile. Work on it."
This reminds me of when I lived in New York. Everyone was just so busy trying to get from one place to another that there seemed to be no time for smiles. But I decided every time that I went out that I would smile more on the subways and as I passed people in the streets. It often worked. They smiled back. I found New Yorkers to be wonderful people.
In spite of what's said about New Yorkers, they are friendly and readily offer assistance when asked. The people of Detroit and its suburbs are less friendly and are perhaps more suspicious. What do you want is often the response to a smile. Nothing my smile replies. I practice smiling, nonetheless, and often engage people on the street or in various offices.
Smiling makes the difference. People are drawn to kind faces; they want to hear you. You are far more likely to be heard. Bosses, co-workers, managers, waiters, and sales clerks often need encouragement too, even when it is their duty to serve and lead by example. It's funny how we can each change the atmosphere. The frontline or customer can lead too. It often helps you.
"Hire-promote for demonstrated curiosity. Check their past commitment to continuous learning."
This is a great statement and must do. I most certainly promoted others with this in mind.
"'Thank you.' Minimum several times a day. Measure it."
erik - I just read a "Cool Friends" interview with Eliot Levine and Dennis Littkey that is really extraordinarily awesome. Wow! When ws it published 2000? The interview is pretty amazing on so many levels! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! There! That's three times today already! :-)
I found Bo Burlingham's interview too after TP recently mentioned him. That’s a great one too!
Mary – Thanks for the great additions – much appreciated.
Posted by Judith Ellis at February 26, 2009 4:24 PM
judith,
my pleasure.
Posted by erik at February 26, 2009 4:36 PM
Posted by C Love at February 26, 2009 6:25 PM
All I can say is great post and appropiate responses (I really enjoyed the first 3).
C Love-----As always, up for a good laugh; in fact, I laughed out loud.
Performance based pay for our politicians too!
Thanks for adding the "stuff" that I will take with me.
Posted by Bach Anon at February 26, 2009 6:35 PM
Why do so many successful business people choose to quit what made them successful, that is their original business or company, to start teaching others 'how they did it'...via espousing marketing strategy, business psychology/philosophies,etc.? Is it boredom, desire to teach, easier lifestyle, more prestige? What?
Posted by Eric Johnson at February 26, 2009 7:06 PM
Eric - define success for them
I think a lot of people become outwardly successful but inwardly have a craving to do something else - effectively what made them successful didn't make them successful
Posted by PaulH at February 27, 2009 2:26 AM
Mary a big yes to 59
One of the best performance improvement ideas would be for the IT department to remove powerpoint from the standard machine build!
From the original list I love the fact that Tom clarifies optimism and mindless optimism. The former is everything. The latter is an evil that needs removing. Keep it upbeat and moving but keep it real.
What heartens me is the increased recognition and understanding of the role of emotion in business (emotional intelligence etc)
Posted by PaulH at February 27, 2009 7:17 AM
Could I add, re Excellence:
Define Excellence, as in Make Excellence Targets Real
or better still:
Ask Your Team To Set Their Own Excellence Targets. You will be surprised how high they set the bar.
Otherwise Excellence is just a great-sounding word.
Posted by RobCH at February 27, 2009 9:47 AM
"Ask Your Team To Set Their Own Excellence Targets. You will be surprised how high they set the bar."
Rob- you are so right- people long to be the part of something great!
The chief of the little volunteer fire dept in my husband's home town won an award for continuing innovation from his peers last year and his crews consistantly win competitions against full-time depts. They see no reason why they can't train and function at the same level as the big city guys. And they have little problem recruiting and retaining members who give up one evening a week and a weekend a month for training. For free.
Too many at the top think in mediocre while the ones at the bottom can only dream in technicolour!
Posted by Lois Gory at February 27, 2009 11:51 AM
Great list! I love point #12 - exposing all prospects to something unexpected during the interview and gauging their reaction. Has this ever happened to you? I realize now in hindsight it has happened to me. I got the job so I guess I reacted well?!
viagra without a prescription usaPosted by Hayli @ RiseSmart at February 27, 2009 1:19 PM
So many gems for success! I would add one for your list. It's some advice that I got early on in my career and to this day still drives success in business. "Don't let the perfect get in the way of the possible"
Posted by Kaplan Mobray Author The 10Ks of Personal Branding at February 28, 2009 11:09 AM
Kaplan..."Don't let the perfect get in the way of the possible"...thank you for this most terrific piece of advise. There is a lot of power and potential for success in that advise! Most excellent indeed...
Posted by dave wheeler at February 28, 2009 1:49 PM
Culture as a strategy = very underated idea
Posted by PaulH at March 1, 2009 11:37 AM
I like the rule of study the other person, you always say that a friendnet is necesary.
I beleive that if I gift my car to the university it will be an investment in relationships, but we have to know whith whom.
Trust to people of trust and they will regard you later.
Posted by Jesus Sanchez at March 4, 2009 5:26 PM
Tom Peters is a made of many people and his escence and decisions.
So the matter is that: join to Big People so you will be Enormous with your essence and decisions.
Posted by Jesus Sanchez at March 4, 2009 5:30 PM
Design, Leadership, Talent, Tendences can be a matter of University. I choose talent if I have to choose one because if you develop your talents, then you will be recognized, and with that you can develop and develop and develop.
I BELEIVE THAT PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT IS A LAW OF LIFE
Posted by Jesus Sanchez at March 4, 2009 5:37 PM
The input you all have is really insightful. I just started paying attention at it's great. Can't wait to hear more.
Posted by William Yatscoff at March 9, 2009 7:56 PM
I recall Tom Peters said something along the lines of 'if you see/ hear the word 'strategy', run a mile...'.
So aren't we really talking 'tactics' here??
56x Go to your own site first... is it really the best you can do/ up-to-date?
57x Randomly call ON your customers - go visit them AND your suppliers. Meet them face to face and pay some interest in what they do, as well as what you could be doing better for them (that includes for suppliers).
58x ... you do? Really?? You're kidding??? How come you're still in a job? Plan objectives, inputs and outputs for all meetings. Put in the diary (now) to review them for regular meetings on a quarterly or bi-annual basis.
61 Understand the difference between strategy, and tactics.
and
62 ... whoops, already far too many of these to remember, so either pick your favourites or go back to the start of the main list and review it every so often.
Posted by Tom Birch at March 11, 2009 9:57 AM