Pursuing Profits without Organizational Performance Does not work!

Organizations fail to achieve long term sustainability and hence profitability because they follow shortcuts instead of the long but proven road to success.

The shortcut to profitability is determined by:

• Inadequate or incomplete or inappropriate Business performance indicators as well as, measuring and reporting systems
• Loose accountability and ability to respond to fast changing economic, social environment
• Provision of skills without solid character (principle based)
• One man / woman innovation. Top Management reveals the ideas and the rest use their “screwdrivers” to implement
• Values are predominantly financial and not shared (biased toward Top Management and Shareholders)
• One man / woman Leadership

The Buffalo idea rather than the Goose Effect. If we kill the Buffalo / Leader the herd gets disorganized in no time.

• Direction is short sighted and inflexible (one to maximum 3 years)
• Customer communication is most of the times a one way road

Long term, enduring organizational performance including numbers (profitability, debt, Liquidity, ROA, ROI etc, etc) is achieved, make no mistake, by following the less travelled road determined by:

• Well defined and interrelated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) placed on the right measurement and reporting platforms
• KPIs should be broken down and linked to individual employee measurable performance in order to institute objective accountability, reporting and people ability to respond (responsibility) quickly to deviations and changes
• Skills should be assessed and developed on the basis of prior assessment of talent and ambition. Both characteristics seem to be unknown to Organizations (see related tip at RcF (Rocket Management) https://www.conicontraining.com/consortium/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/photo29.jpg ).

Note: Whatever is difficult for Organizations to assess seems to be neglected or regarded as unnecessary!

• Innovation is creating the infrastructure for generation and flow of ideas by as many people as possible. Furthermore, innovation embraces the ability to seek and adapt to change.
• Leadership is about understanding that there is huge difference between a Leader and a Cheer Leader (see related article https://www.conicontraining.com/en/are-you-a-leader-or-a-cheer-leader/ ).

Furthermore, One (1) Leader is no longer enough. We need Goose Leadership. When the leading goose is shot down by a hunter, another one will take the lead inform of the Swarm.

• Values are what the Organization recognizes as their beliefs for success. Money is one but not the only one and certainly not the highest in priority. Actually, Money is a byproduct. Guess what is number one? Customer! Yes Sir!

Most Organizations claim that Customers are number 1, but only a few live on this claim every single day, minute or second.

John Marriot said well: “Spirit to Serve” and so did Tom Peters: “Customer once, Client Forever”.

Finally, even fewer Organizations realize the importance of “People are Number 1”. All people, Client, Associates, Employees, Society, and Stakeholders (Read more in article https://www.conicontraining.com/en/article33/ ).

The level of service to your Clients is proportional to the level of service to your employees who provide that service to your Clients. Please memorize this, otherwise it will haunt your forever!

• Direction is important and that is the role of the Leaders, Changing direction in this turbulent and toxic global economy is not a sin! It is inevitable. So, the critical question is how quickly your Leaders can point to a view direction and inspire others to get on the new track.

• Customer Communication is bidirectional. All communication is like that. But the most important element of communication is listening and not talking. Understanding before responding is a fundamental prerequisite for results oriented communication.

As a colleague said it well: “Effectiveness is the balancing between results and the strengthening of the ability to generate results….” (see the tip at https://www.conicontraining.com/consortium/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pshoto2.jpg )

Yiannakis Mouzouris
B.Sc. Mech. Eng. , M.Sc. Eng. Mgt.
senior Business Consultant / Trainer
Conicon Ltd
www.conicontraining.com