FROM THE PUBLISHER

HOW MANY TIMES have you been surprised that one of your favorite local restaurants has gone out business? From the outside, it’s hard to figure out: the food was excellent, the service was consistently outstanding and the place was packed, even on week nights. From the inside, however, things were not so cheery. Perhaps it was undercapitalized, or had employee problems or legal issues. Of course, sometimes external events align against a business that no owner or employee could prevent; however, it seems that most fatal wounds are either self inflicted or were never treated and thus developed into a long-term infection.
     Running a business or a division, or even a small team, and running it the right way is difficult. To keep a company in line with its founding goals and culture, demands a thousand practical decisions to be made every day and as many actions to be taken. Of course, when keeping the big picture in mind, you can’t lose track of all of the practical demands of budgets, contracts, individual personalities, taxes and the other million straws loaded on the camel’s back.
     I’ve written often in this column about creating and following a big picture plan, and most businesses are started with driving principles and goals in some form. Businesses that are successful year in and year out, however, share a common trait; they are able to infuse day-to-day activity and decision making with the spirit of the big picture plan.
     Often, the difference between a smart, efficient business that is following its plan and one that is cutting important corners is a very fine line. If I’m busy, can I put off employee reviews for a couple months? Do I need legal contracts for everything or can I get by on a handshake agreement? What do these employment and tax laws really mean?
     Is it possible to condition a business to keep everyday tasks in line with the big picture? Something to consider is a concept borrowed from athletic training: creating process goals that go in hand with outcome goals. All businesses have outcome goals; things that we typically measure to determine if we are doing well. Did you meet your quarterly numbers? Did you pass the health inspection? Did the tradeshow generate three hundred leads? These are very easy to establish and to measure; however, they only measure what a business achieves, not how it is achieved.
     To improve how a business achieves its goals, and to really infuse a business with the desired culture, process goals need to be established. These are goals that aim to develop consistency and excellence in everyday practice and work to improve how things get done, not just the bottom line. A process goal might be to make sure all staff has been trained properly to eliminate material waste, which supports an outcome goal of reducing waste by ten percent annually. Or perhaps making sure production and sales meet weekly to support monthly revenue goals.
     Goals, processes, decisions, consistency—all of these things and more will challenge a good business during the best of times, but the payoff will really come when things get difficult; when the unexpected happens. Establishing and following a plan, with the right mix of ‘what’ (outcome) and ‘how’ (process) goals can make the difference between a small scratch and a fatal infection.
     Warmest Regards,

     Connie