A shocking number of companies I meet are stuck. They’re at a certain market share, top-line revenue number, or bottom-line EBIT – and they’re stuck. They’ve been there for a year. Maybe two. They are so obsessed with holding on to what they have that they dedicate no time and attention to what could be – to possibilities. To what’s next.
I’ve noticed that the leaders of these firms typically lead a reasonably comfortable lifestyle. Further, they are ‘somebody’ within their local market. They’re known. And the thought of actually moving outside of that comfort – to tackle a new market, introduce a new product, or otherwise engage with people they have heretofore not had to deal with – terrifies them incredibly.
If you approach your business from mainly a defensive posture, i.e. “how do we protect our market share?” - then you’re likely to foster a particular style or culture of service development / delivery. If you approach business from mainly a growth or aggressive posture, i.e. “how do we make cool stuff that people want to talk about and buy?” - then you’re likely to foster a different style or culture within the organization.
Briefly, think about what would happen in your business if you said this:
For the next six months, we’re not going to care about market share. We’re going to care about three basic things:
1. We’re going to treat existing customers at least as well, if not better, than new customers or prospects.
2. We’re going to devote our considerable talent and expertise to making cool, remarkable products and services that people actually want and talk about.
3. In every decision, we’re going to do our best to favor speed over comprehensiveness.
