Right now, America needs heroes. We need heroes in communities, churches, government, military and schools. But we also need corporate heroes. We need people to focus on the business of business. The United States needs the most effective corporate leaders and managers it has ever produced.

Defining Heroism
For this article, heroism is defined as providing an act of courage in a crisis, going beyond the call of duty and acting wisely under pressure. Heroes have no fixed titles. Parents, siblings, relatives, hourly workers, CEOs, military officers and corporate executives can all be heroes.

The challenge to be an American Corporate Hero includes the following four key areas:

Remember The Purpose Of Every Business
Many years ago, Peter Drucker wrote that the purpose of a business is to create a customer and the two primary functions of every business are innovation and marketing. Corporate employees need to continually focus on creating customers and adding value to them. Every hero has a role to play, a purpose to fulfill. The corporate hero needs to keep their purpose clearly in their sights as much as a military leader does.

Keep The Focus Amidst The Worries
In the current state of the union, executives have a host of worries to take their mind off of their responsibilities: terrorism, layoffs, plunging stock prices, mergers, declining consumer confidence, safety at home and so on. The corporate hero, just like any other hero, needs to maintain their focus on the things that matter the most to their organization.

Specifically, they must identify the customers' core needs and expectations. Then they need to funnel 90% of their organization's internal resources toward meeting the highest priority needs of their customers.

Maintain Impeccable Dignity and Integrity

Corporate heroes ALWAYS do what they believe is the right thing to do and NEVER play politics. Regardless of the impact on short-term P&L, these individuals maintain their integrity and dignity.

Improving the condition of the customer is the role of the corporation. It is what provides the members with a sense of purpose. Now more than ever corporations need to get focused and stay focused on their customers' highest priorities. Preserving dignity includes staying in control of your destiny and communicating to others with respect. These fundamental aspects of heroism oftentimes get overlooked.

Realize That People Are The Greatest Corporate Assets

Far too quickly corporations have dumped employees. This fad of dropping the bottom 10% is ludicrous. If an individual is not performing well, then it is the responsibility of the manager to remove the person from the group and possibly the organization. But to lop off the bottom 10% regardless of the individual's ability is ludicrous. It does not take into account the weaknesses of the manager or the hidden potential of the individual.

Corporate heroes draw out extraordinary performances from a wide variety of people. They do it by clarifying the customers' highest priorities and keeping the group focused on delivering better results for the customers.

A corporate hero is part role model, part teacher, part decision-maker, part compass, and part coach. In the end, these people will help lift the U.S. to greater heights than it has ever been before.

Dan Coughlin is president of The Coughlin Company, Inc., a firm that specializes in enhancing the effectiveness of top performing executives, groups and organizations.

About Dan Coughlin

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Dan Coughlin teaches practical ideas on how to improve business performance. He is a business keynote speaker, management consultant, executive coach, and author of four books on leadership, sales, branding, and innovation. His books including Accelerate, Corporate Catalysts, The Management 500, and Find a Way to Win. His clients include GE Capital, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Marriott, Boeing, Abbott, Toyota, Subway, Kiewit, Prudential, Denny's, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

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