14 Mar 2008 02:21:23 | Skip Reardon
Did you ever wonder how some organizations (businesses,
not-for-profits, churches, etc.) just seem to perform
better than others? Is it luck? Chance? More resources?
The answer? There are five key differences - all of which
are described in detail in the best-selling book "Six Disciplines for
Excellence"
At Six Disciplines Corporation, we conducted extensive research
to determine how top performing organizations differ from the
rest. We found several areas where the contrasts were
significant between the highest- versus lowest-performing small
businesses.
Here's the top five - in order of their importance:
1. Strength of the Leadership Team. Top-performing
organizations rated 155% higher than the lower performers. The
two primary factors were the ability of leadership to define a
clear vision for the company, and the appropriate involvement of
leadership in leading and supporting projects that were
strategic to the organization.
2. Ability to Attract and Retain Quality People.
Top-performing organizations rated 142% higher than the lower
performers. The best small businesses have found that success in
this area all starts with recruiting.
3. Disciplined Approach To Business. Top-performing
organizations rated 114% higher than the lower performers. Top
performers are also good planners, but are practical and are
disciplined about the commitments they make.
4. Strategic Use of Technology. Top-performing
organizations give more emphasis to using technology to impact
the business in strategic ways (114% more) than the lower
performers.
5. Effective Use of Trusted Relationships. Top-performing
organizations rated 100% higher than the lower performers in
their ability to utilize the expertise and talents of external
organizations.
Other factors contribute to top-performing organizations and how
they differ from lower performers (i.e., work ethic/attitude,
teamwork, commitment, etc.). The five described above highlight
the areas of greatest difference.
Your next step? Understand further each of the characteristics
of top-performing organizations by investigating the
step-by-step Six Disciplines methodology.
To find out more, visit www.SixDisciplines.com
About Author :
Skip Reardon is Director of Marketing of Six Disciplines
Corporation, responsible developing and implementing strategic
marketing programs and processes, and ensuring the marketing
success of Six Disciplines. Reardon brings more than 23 years of
corporate marketing experience, and was most recently the
Manager of Analyst Relations for Microsoft Business Solutions.
