What is the real purpose
of
your business? Your company needs
profits to live, but profits are not what the business is for.
The objectives are
to provide value to the population
and
to make the community better. When this vision is lost then
we lose sense of purpose, the feeling of belonging, the sight of why
we work, and why our business exists. Start a business when you have
a passion for something and want to create something that you can be
proud of. Inspire yourself and your people with a clear
vision. Define
shared values and
let values rule.
Achieve your
sustainable competitive advantage by continuously developing
existing and creating new
resources
and
capabilities
in response to rapidly changing
market conditions. Focus on strengthening your
distinctive capabilities –
leadership,
teamwork,
processes,
tacit knowledge, etc.
– which cannot be
replicated by
competitors.
Know What
Finding
the right balance in your business will help you refine your
goals and hasten you towards them. Organizations prosper by
achieving strategy through
balancing the four major factors
or
perspectives: Financial; Customer; Process; and Growth.
Know Where
Remember the old joke about the car
mechanic who’s called in after every other mechanic failed?
He listens to the engine for a few minutes, then hauls off and
gives it a big swift kick in a certain strategic spot. Lo and
behold, the engine starts humming like a kitten. The mechanic
turns around, gives the car owner his bill for $400. The owner
is flabbergasted and demands an itemized breakdown and
explanation.
The bill says... '$1 for my time, and $399 for knowing where to kick.'
Know When
“The value of actions lies in their timing,” said
Lao Tzu.
Timing is everything. You have to know not only how to make a move, but
when.
Customer
value
derives from timely delivery. Change is unavoidable, but if you can
anticipate it and understand business cycles, you can
ride with change instead of being run over.
Know Who
"In the end, all management can be reduced
to three words: people, product, and profits.
People
come first," said Lee Iacocca Your corporate vision is worthless,
strategies powerless and shared values are corrupt without the right
people to execute.
Know How
Manage processes, not people. Focus not on
what they do, but on how they do it. Establish a
synergistic
enterprise-wide and an end-to-end (cross-departmental, and often,
cross-company) coordination of work activities that create and deliver
ultimate
value to customers.
