Special Topic of the Month:

This is the time of year for family reunions. Two weeks ago my family and I attended my dad's side of the family reunion and last weekend we went to my father-in-law's side of the family reunion. These reunions are traditions spanning more than five decades and include relatives from all over the U.S., Ireland and Germany. As I pored over the pictures of people from the early 1900's to the early 21st century, I couldn't help but be reminded of the closing scene in Robin Williams' great film, Awakenings. He looks at a room of research doctors in the field of mental health and says, "This summer we were reminded of the important things in life: love, family and friends." If you ever get too busy to attend a family reunion (as I thought I was several years ago), ask yourself if you really have your priorities in the right order.

Topic of the Month:

THE ULTIMATE BUSINESS DRIVERS: CULTURE AND SYNERGY

Two things drive results in an organization: its culture and synergy. Whether you like or dislike your results, you need look no further than your own culture and degree of synergy to determine what is generating those results. First, a few definitions:

A corporate culture is the CONSISTENTLY DISPLAYED values, beliefs and approaches by the members of the organization. Culture is not about what is hoped for, but rather it is about what is actually happening.

Synergy is the degree to which each component of an organization promotes and enhances every other component of an organization.

All of the planning and talking in the world is not going to drive better results if the desired culture and level of synergy is missing. Say for an example that a retail store wants to market itself as a friendly place built for customer convenience. If the culture of the store does not support this, say for example Wal-Mart, then no marketing program is going to make it a reality. The Wal-Mart culture is built around reducing costs. So they stock up in inventory of everything under the sun, reduce cost and price to a bare minimum and generate huge profits by selling in volume. Their culture is built for low cost. They do an incredible job of delivering on that particular customer expectation. However, if the customer wanted convenience, they would be extremely frustrated by the huge parking lot and endless aisles and huge warehouse that comprise most Wal-Mart stores. What makes Wal-Mart successful is the synergy between the huge parking lot, huge stores and huge levels of inventory that all work together to reduce costs and increase sales. If a store wanted to deliver the core expectations of friendliness and convenience, then they would purchase much smaller parking lots, much smaller stores and many fewer aisles than the average Wal-Mart. The culture would focus on friendliness and providing a comfortable experience to the customer.

When CEOs say their organizations need to be more innovative (or friendlier or faster), they first need to see if this desired objective fits within their culture. If it does, then they need to insure that the desired traits are role modeled by the top executive team and middle management.

Many times I have heard executives say that the front-line employees need to treat their customers with greater respect. Unfortunately, these same executives are sarcastic with one another, gossip about each other when they are apart and create an atmosphere of silos between their direct reports. A culture is what consistently happens. Cultures begin at the top and then must be reinforced in a hundred different ways. If you really want a desired culture in an organization, first identify if you are acting in accordance with it. Second, clearly communicate the desired culture. Third, provide incentives (both financial and psychic) that reward the desired culture.

An effective culture is one that is in alignment with the core customer expectations. Passengers on Southwest Airlines expect cheap fares, friendly attendants with a bit of an attitude and on-time travel. Guests at Walt Disney World and Marriott expect to see lots of smiles. The synergy at Walt Disney World consists of friendly characters, friendly tour guides, friendly waiters and waitresses, friendly bus drivers and friendly janitors. A rude cast member would ruin the experience for many guests.

QUESTIONS FOR THE MONTH

• What core expectations do your customers have for your organization?

• What in your current culture delivers on those expectations and what gets in the way of delivering those expectations?

• What would make your culture more effective in delivering those expectations?

• How could your organization increase its synergistic approach of delivering those expectations?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

"Profit From The Core" by Chris Zook and James Allen is a terrific resource on identifying your core business and building sustainable growth by sticking to your core and the adjacencies around it.

If you need articles for an association publication or for your organization's internal newsletter on any of the following topics, feel free to contact Dan Coughlin. Also, if you need a presenter for a keynote address or a breakout session at a local, regional, national or international association meeting on these topics, contact Dan as well.

Topics:

• How To Be A Results-Focused Leader
• How To Increase Personal Effectiveness
• How To Build Outcome-Based Teamwork
• How To Master The Art Of Management
• How To Communicate Like A Master Sculptor
• How To Use Innovation To Drive Better Results
• How To Build A Professional Services Firm
• How Dignity and Self-Esteem Drive Better Business Results
• How To Detail Your Way To Greatness
• The Myths and Realities of Executive Coaching

Back to The Enhancing Effectiveness Page

P.O. Box 1245 Fenton, Missouri 63026
Phone 636.825.6611 Fax 636.825.9831
E-mail info@thecoughlincompany.com