This past week, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the NAPA Western District Conference in Seattle for over 200 owners from Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. I’d like to share the concept shared with them with you…
In 2003, I was in the midst of legends, at least for me. At a Nike Basketball Coaches clinic in Portland, I was in a room with speakers Jim Calhoun from the University of Connecticut and Lute Olson from the University of Arizona (both National Championship winners). I hung on every word!
Coach Calhoun gave advice that I’ve used throughout my career with clients and colleagues. He said, “I should be able to walk into any one of your practices – regardless of the day of the week or the time in the season – and know what you value. If it’s rebounding, then every drill will have a rebounding component; if it’s defense, the same. If you truly value a part of the game and the culture of your team, anyone should be able to see it in your daily practice.”
I challenged my audience on Friday with this statement that I also challenge you with – if I walked into your business today, would I be able to tell what you value?
Organizational culture can be an overused term, yet the behavior and attitudes shown by your employees in how they discharge their duties will always be critical to your viability and sustainability of operations, revenue, and profit. The values that are modeled by business owners and leaders will be apparent; the question is if they match what you want to see.
The key to developing and growing a thriving business culture is by identifying your values (what do want your business to look like to others), objectives (how will we measure our progress) and action (how will we assure we actually get it done). This requires investing time in the process, communicating well with everyone, modeling the actions, and maybe above all else, displaying the discipline needed to do those daily activities to get you to where you want to be.
If a basketball coach wants to be a great rebounding team, every drill of every practice must have a rebounding component. That takes discipline from the head coach, the assistant coaches, and the team. If a CEO wants a company that creates a culture of putting the client first (and in a recipient-biased mode – see last week’s memo), then the daily activities and behaviors should all be guided by that value.
So let me ask you again, if I walked into your business – whether or not you own it – will I be able to tell what you value? Your mission this week is to start the process of making sure of it.
Quote of the Day:
“You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.”
~ Unknown, but I heard it from my Shrimp Tank podcast guest Aaron Murphy
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