Shifting the dial towards execution excellence

Why is it that some companies are more innovative, have more loyal customers and more engaged employees? What do they do differently? Simon Sinek says that all the great and inspiring leaders and companies take inspiration from knowing why they exist, not what they do or how they do it. The why is the driver for everything you do, this controls behaviour. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. If your employees and customers understand why you do what you do, they trust you, they become loyal and their behaviour proves this.

Where do we then start if things don’t go as we assume it should? And how do we get to be the company that defies all of the assumptions? If you look at the law of diffusion of innovation, there is a tipping point which you need to cross to take your business to the next level. But how do you close the gap to get to the other side of that tipping point?  Here are a few ideas on key things you can do to shift the dial:

All employees should understand your why

In our business, as in any existing company, we have a group of existing employees. This is a diverse group of people, with different backgrounds, different roles, different perspectives, but they all want to add value in the context of what is within their control, whether that is a small piece of the puzzle or a big portfolio. However, do we all work towards the same goal? Do we understand why we exist? It often comes across that each of us runs as fast as we possibly can in our own direction.

There are certain things that a company can do to help our employees become more inspired at work and then pay it forward by inspiring colleagues and our customers. Imagine the value that we would be able to derive and the return in investment that the business will see if we all understood exactly why we do what we do, followed by how we do it and then what we do. We will shift our focus to not only be busy with expected daily tasks, but making progress on the tasks that are truly important for the growth of the business, the tasks that speaks to our why. What you do simply proves what you believe, your why.

Only hire people who belief what you belief

Getting existing employees to buy into why we do what we do may come with a set of challenges. However, when recruiting new people, we can be more selective and not only make decisions based on the skills you bring to the table. If you hire people who have the right skills, they will work for your money. But if you hire people who belief what you belief, they will put in everything they have to make a success of your why.

I’d rather have fewer people in the business who share what we believe, than having lots of people that don’t understand why we do what we do. Over and above that, hire for excellence, not mediocrity. Having a lot of mediocre people is not the recipe for success. Ideally, I’d rather have a few people with excellent skills who understand why our business exists. If these excellent people are driven by your cause and are allowed the space to apply themselves and innovate, they will help you define the how and the what that speaks to your why. And that is the recipe for success.

Apply essentialism

There are so many initiatives, projects and problems in the business on a daily basis and in many instances we are reactive and fight the fires that are burning on a specific day. We just focus on the what and maybe the how, but lose track of the why. The implication is that we don’t have time to be proactive and prioritise the things that will shift the dial.

Enable yourself and others in your organisation to live at your highest level of contribution. Conquer the assumptions of “I have to”, “It’s all important” and “I can do both” and replace them with “I choose to”, “Only a few things really matter” and “I can do anything but not everything”. This will help you to pursue the things that matter most to the organisation.

Companies that are operationally excellent have lower operating costs, lower operational risks and increased revenue and will ultimately create more value for customers and shareholders. Once the organisation is at a point where all the employees buy into why you exist, you hire excellent talent who shares the same beliefs and you focus on the most important things (and only those things), the focus should move to some principles that typically occur in companies that execute excellently, such as respecting every individual, seeking perfection, assuring quality at the source and embracing scientific thinking. But first things first, rather deliberately go slow to go fast, than going fast in the wrong direction.