EDITOR'S NOTE: Why is it So Hard to Win?

Hiring new employees isn’t on anyone’s list of most favorite things to do. But hiring the right people is one of three critical ingredients needed to manage your business to win. The other two elements are developing the right focus and creating the right environment.

With the spring season in full swing, it’s important to keep your eye on the specific goals you have set for your company this year. Your goals may include growing 10 percent, upselling your current clientele with one or more services, cutting down on work-related injuries and downtime, improving profitability and increasing employee training.
 
While your business can’t get off of the ground without hiring the right people, it also takes more than hiring bodies to jump-start your strategy. You must also have a concrete plan in place to ensure their success from day one. Having focus and creating the right environment are crucial to your overall game plan.
 
“You can’t be successful by just hiring people. That’s what makes it so tough,” says Michael Canic, Ph.D with Edge Consulting Services. Canic and Bernadine Grenier presented their Managing to Win program recently at the annual PLANET Executive Forum.
 
Why is it so hard to win? Because leaders fail to develop the right focus, to get the right people and to create the right environment, Canic says.
 
So, what does winning look like? Before you can answer this, you must assess your business. Attack your assumptions – those that you have about your organization and the market you compete in.
 
“Things change. The more successful you are, the more imperative it is that you do this,” Canic says.
 
Without an edge, you are more than likely to fail. How often do things fail? “Of all the quality initiatives that we’ve heard and read about, two-thirds of them failed,” he says.
 
Rather than wasting your time and money spinning your wheels, it’s imperative that you take a few steps to keep your company running on the right track.

1.Assess who and what is influencing your business.

2.Position your company internally and externally with a targeted,
 succinct mission statement.

3.Plan your course of action with tangible strategies and objectives, as
 well as concrete forms of measurement.

4.Implement your plan with buy-in from your employees. Don’t send
 mixed messages and don’t say one thing and do another.

The right focus is compelling, clear and concise. This is only possible when you attack your assumptions, know where your business is weak, know why you have to change as a business and recognize whether your mission statement uses real words that your employees can repeat.
 
By creating a winning environment and getting buy-in from your employees, you win. And winning results in satisfied employees and clients, as well as overall business success.