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Do you have managers who aren’t afraid to make decisions in tough situations – but who seem to make the wrong ones?
Consider Beth, supervisor at Eminence Printing, a 50-year-old company. Beth is bright, highly motivated, knowledgeable about printing, and her boss, Lew, current CEO and son of the founder, trusted her with one of his most valued clients.
The client is the Bracken Company – a local company that hosts a lavish picnic for the entire community every year. Attendees get t-shirts – a tradition for the last 15 years – that are prized as collector’s items, because a new design is created every year.
A supply issue caused Beth to make some decisions that affected the look of 1,000 of the 5,000 t-shirts available. The attendees noticed the difference, and instead of being happy to get a new t-shirt, they became focused on getting a "good" t-shirt.
What was the result of Beth’s decision? |
Leaders who don't share their full vision for the company with their supervisors and employees risk putting emphasis on the wrong deliverable for clients.
Lew let his managers make decisions and saw turnover increase and profits go down. .
Once he included his leadership team in Strategic Goal Planning and implemented a regular review cycle, profit increased by 20% The return on investment was
520%
Run the numbers |
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PowerStep Small steps for today that power big change
Do your employees know what is most important in your company?
Most companies stress a combination of quality, cost control, customer service, and responsiveness to customer requests as priorities for the business, but often these priorities are in conflict with each other.
If your employees had to choose between on-time delivery, meeting specifications, and cutting costs, would they make the same choices you would?
Can they apply your strategic vision to their decision making criteria? Is there a consistent company culture that is reflected in the behavior of every employee?
If you're unsure, it's time to ask them.
Ask several employees, at various levels within the company, what they would say the company's priorities are. Then, ask them to rank them in order of importance.
Compare what they've told you - the real company culture - with what you envision for the business, and set about making them the same. |
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Company Culture. What is it, how do you discover it, and how do you change it?
A Company Culture is a set of shared beliefs and aspirations that serves as the basis for decision making and behavior within an organization.
There are several famous Company Cultures - Nordstrom's has a culture of exceptional customer service, FedEx has a culture of getting shipments delivered on time, and Google has a culture of innovation and fresh thinking.
Every company has a culture - to the benefit or the detriment of the business, and it will not automatically align with the company's goals.
How can the culture change the business? |
