It doesn’t matter whether you run a small business or a major international corporation. We now know the key characteristics of what an excellent business should look like.
Over the past three decades there have been many business gurus who have each had their own list of what a business should concentrate upon. If you distill these lists it becomes very clear that you need to pay attention to two key areas: business issues and people issues.
In terms of the business issues, a business needs to have a sense of direction and be well led. The core of setting direction is to create a shared vision within the organization, create a sense of purpose with a mission statement and then agree on a set of values of what is important in terms of how you go about bringing your vision into reality.
The second business issue is that you have to be financially competent and well organised. All the vision and values in the world will not guarantee success if you have not created effective management and administration systems, particularly in the financial area as regards cost management and strategies for increasing revenue streams.
Thirdly you need to focus on your customers creating effective working relationships, asking for feedback and listening to what you can do to help your customers develop their business
The sustainable business needs to be aware of what is going on in its business environment, particularly in terms of trends in the market place which it services.
Fifthly once those trends are identified, it is vital that the business anticipates how things are going to change and innovates in ways that help it embrace change rather then resist it.
The sixth element of the world class business is where we focus on the people issue. Excellent businesses value their people, respect them and help them develop so that they become more effective in their role in the business.
It is important that everyone in the business has positive beliefs about the business and that they display a positive attitude when talking to people outside the business. As many writers have said, we become what we think about. If your people are talking about your business in positive terms, unconsciously they are helping it to be more successful.
Many businesses use teamwork as a way of producing results. Creating an effective team where trust, open communication, shared goals, agreed standards of performance and a focus on team outputs are fundamental to the team’s operation is vital, particularly if the team is to capture its learning and put that learning to good use in the future.
In today’s business world we look for all our people to innovate and come up with new ideas. We like our people to think “outside the box” and be creative. Sometimes new ideas don’t always work out and it is how these ‘failures’ are treated that is so important in making sure that people don’t feel ‘put down’ if their ideas are not as successful as anticipated.
Number 10 on our list is that the business has to be a ‘good place to be’. Even if you are successful at the first nine issues on the list if you fail at this one your business will not be world class and sustainable. The acid test of an organization is what goes through the mind of the average worker at 6am on Monday when their alarm goes off. Do they awake and leap out of bed full of enthusiasm saying ‘”let me get to my wonderful job” or do they roll over, press the snooze button on the alarm and say to themselves “oh no, it’s the start of another day in that hell hole! The happiness factor is the most important feature of any successful business!
It doesn’t matter what size your business is, focusing on these factors is vital for every business. Individuals can also be likened to businesses with marketing, production, human resource and financial functions. If you want to give some attention to your personal financial situation read on! Being financially sound is one of the major keys to sustained happiness in today’s world.
Author Resource:
Did you find this article useful? John Potter is a leading international business psychologist who regularly gives out free information. If you would like to know more about how to develop a second source of income with full video and tutorial support please visit the website http://www.MaverickMoneyMakersWinsOnline.com
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