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How frequently do your key people receive coaching?
Who does the coaching?
When you’re hiring, what tools do you use to identify candidates
based on key characteristics?
6. Build An Autonomous Company
So you’ve defined your direction and taken meaningful steps to
ensure you’re on the path to success. Now what? How do you further
improve your existing initiatives? Optimization — or the act of making
something (such as a design, system or process) as fully perfect,
functional or effective as possible.
Small changes often add up to big results, as followers of the
Japanese concept, Kaizen (“continual improvement”), can attest. As
Fast Company reports, Herman Miller, an American office furniture
company best known for producing the Aeron chair, enjoyed a 500
percent increase in productivity and 1,000 percent increase in quality
since adopting a Kaizen process of continuous improvement in 1998.
Analyze your current structure to find ways to improve by considering
the following:
• What tools do you use to create processes that produce better
results?
• What tools do you use to improve your processes (to increase
effectiveness, efficiency and profitability)?
7. Celebrate Successes
Once you’ve effectively mastered the six tools above, you should
be enjoying the fruits of your labor. At this point, it’s important to
remember to celebrate each success. Employee morale is vital, and
you must ensure your employees feel valued and appreciated. Need a
little inspiration? Look to the corporate culture created by Southwest
Airlines: According to CEO Gary Kelly, “The difference at Southwest
is this: Everything begins and ends with our people. If we keep our
employees happy and engaged, they will keep our customers happy,
who will reward us with their loyalty. That repeat business helps our
bottom line and creates value for our shareholders.”
As Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden say in their book, Contented
Cows Still Give Better Milk, even though the game may have changed,
one “aspect of workspace physics remains rock solid, however: the
precept that focused, fully engaged workers produce more and
better stuff, yielding better outcomes. Motivated people move
faster; they always have and always will.” Bring this final tool into
play by asking yourself the following:
• How can you make the excitement for winning a part of
your culture?
• Are you and others in the organization having fun?
• Are people enjoying being part of a winning organization?
• Are you measuring employee and customer satisfaction?
• What do you do with those results?
These steps may only be a road map, but with them you will
ensure a clear vision for your company’s future. And whether
your next steps involve improving profitability, acquiring new
businesses or opening offices overseas, you will have the
knowledge and experience you need to tackle any growing pains
headed your way.
Jim Canfield
As managing director of CEO Tools, Jim provides winning strategies
and business performance tools that empower CEOs to drive profitable
growth. He brings a unique blend of past experience, including extensive
learning in leadership theory and practice as well as “been there,
done that” practical experience running several companies.
Jim has a long history of working with CEOs. Prior to joining Aprio and CEO Tools,
Jim served as CEO of Renaissance Executive Forums, a leading membership
organization for CEOs. He al