Why You Need a Corporate Compass for Sustained Business Success
By Andrea Herbert & Jason Goldberg
The term “true north” is often used when working with individuals who are trying to find their path forward. The theory says that when you know your true north, or who you want to be, it guides the decisions you make and ensures you are living your purpose.
Is the same true for a business? Yes! Competition is at an all-time high. You are competing not only for customers, but for employees and solid business partners. Businesses especially need a true north because there are so many people to align towards a single mission. A Forbes article asked CEOs their biggest concerns for 2022 and they responded with labor shortages, digital transformations, improving cash flow and developing the next generation of leaders. Without a true north, how does the organization know what to work on and when or better yet, who to hire?
It is why road mapping and goal setting are important, but goals are only as good as the teams that know they exist. Executives are great at creating goals and setting the direction of the organization, but not always successful at cascading those goals out to every member of the organization. Cascading goals and communicating the long-term plan is how everyone stays aligned. It is how people understand their purpose and the value they deliver on a daily basis.
How is your organization cascading goals and vision? Does everyone know what they need to accomplish each day to contribute to the success of their team and the organization at large? Those questions might seem granular, but when we don’t drive to that level of detail, we leave the window open for ambiguity and all sorts of unintended consequences.
Some major consequences of failing to align and cascade goals throughout the organization are:
Performance Issues. When people don’t know what to do, they will either do nothing or worse create chaos and confusion by trying to do too much.
Poor Work Culture. Silos are the natural habit when people do not know the value they are driving. We are all know how important it is to add value to keep our job . Without a clear understanding of the company goals and our personal contribution to those goals, we will try to create that value and then protect that at all costs- even to the determent to the company goals.
Work Duplication. And we are back to clarity and alignment. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard more than one group is working to “solve this issue.” Having multiple teams, unknowingly, work on the same problems is the ultimate in waste. According to one study shared, inefficiencies and waste cost companies 20-30% of their revenue annually. That is a large cost due to lack of alignment and clarity.
High Turnover. Poor performance and toxic work environment leads to high turnover which is both timely and costly for the organization.
Lower Productivity. Teams that have no clarity around company and team goals don’t have the requisite skills to achieve them and often deliver lower performance. This causes organization to miss key performance metrics, such as SLAs and financial targets.
All is not lost and reversing course is not difficult. It starts by making small, but impactful changes and you can start today!
Clarify Mission, Vision, and Values. Mission, Vision, and Values are often overstated; however, when used properly can redefine a team’s success. Your Mission and Vision should outline a well-defined long-term growth plan and highlight your firm’s purpose. Clearly define “who we are” and “how we serve others,” both are vital to cascade and align your team for breakout performances.
Goal Setting and Alignment. Any good road trip has an origin and a destination, a compass for direction, a plan to execute, and measurements to evaluate progress. Business progress is no different. Your teams must have clarity around what is expected of them daily. Overcommunicate goals. Give teams an opportunity to participate in what is expected of them and then hold everyone accountable.
Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategy. Conduct an objective assessment of your organization’s ability to achieve its long-range plan and the people talents that are required. From there, you can either develop or hire those capabilities.
Employee Feedback. And this is where the rubber meets the road. When your teams talk, are you listening? It’s not enough to ask for suggestions, the success comes in acting on them. Engage your teams in the decision-making process. With clear goals and objectives that are well aligned, those that do the work often have the best solutions of how to improve the work.
Rewards and Recognition. Let your team know what “winning looks like” and celebrate the wins. Celebrate the lessons learned. Taking the time to recognize what is working as well as what we can improve will create a more creative and innovative environment, poised for success.
Andie Herbert is the Founder & Chief Kindness Officer at Be Kind Lyfe, a management consulting firm that specializes in improving business performance through kind work cultures that are passionate about innovating and creatively solving problems.
Jason Goldberg is the Managing Principal at Elevate Business Solutions, a management consulting firm that specializes in business growth and implementation strategies that yield better results within ever changing markets.
