Values in Common

Recently I was in a little shop in a top tourist town here in Washington State.  Beautiful new building, lots of tantalizing items catching my eye but wait...who's in charge here?   The only staff person was using the laptop and keeping track of three small children and failing to make any type of contact with me or the other 5 women in the store.  Did she not see us, doesn't she need sales, is she the owner....all these questions  quickly raced through my mind and then I left without a purchase.

This scenario isn't that unusual now but it sure used to be.  Of course, growing up in Seattle Nordstrom was the benchmark for service and as far as I'm concerned it still is. And I'm always puzzled by a general lack of customer service especially when shop doors are closing up all over America.  What's going on around here anyway?  Well, I know one thing is lack of Values in Common.

Now the question is how do you, the business owner, identify what you value?  Doesn't everyone  value money, sales, and the bottom line.  Well, in my experience owners talk about one value and yet their actions say something differently and often louder.

When you follow these iniatives you'll not only identify your values you'll know how to apply them in your business and the difference will show up in your bottom line.

1. When you connect your values, your vision, your strategy, and your business processes and put mechanisms in place that encourage YOU and YOUR people to do the right thing, you'll attract the right employees and customers.
Translation: Your values connect to your marketing plan which includes your web site, brochures, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other printed and online pieces.  

2. Position yourself to deal with a range of possible futures, but then hone in on what you need for the future that actually arrives.
Translation: Plans do not follow a straight line; disasters, disruptions, and opportunities will randomly occur so identify 4 or 5 scenarios and the method you'll  win your market share under each one.   Identify the initiatives that show up in every scenario and use these as your main strategies.

3. Align your portfolio of initiatives with your objectives and strategies
Translation: Stop doing what you’ve been doing with little success.  Plot your strategy, weigh your financial success, critique your current actions, check for alignment.

4. Make sure the words you use inspire the actions you want.
Translation: Make sure you walk the talk. Sometimes you get what you ask for so be sure it’s what you really, really, really want.

5. Focus on the connections between stakeholders that create value for everyone.
Translation: Your stakeholders are your employees, customers, partners, shareholders, and your community.   All are important to your success so communicate to each group your vision and how you plan to create it.  Know that sometimes one group’s interest may conflict with another’s and prepare for it.

To be continued......