Valuing Discretionary Effort

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When an employee fulfills obligations and achieves assigned goals with expected behavior, we recognize this as acceptable performance. The job is getting done.  But when one contributes more than the common standard, more than what’s expected, then that’s discretionary effort.  To improve results, leaders need advocates who can collaborate with them to drive productive change. For them to invest discretionary effort, these advocates need to appreciate how the change creates value for the business and how they …

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What Customers Value

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A customer’s inquiry typically solicits a resolution to a stated, short-term problem. If your solution relieves the customer’s immediate pain, without contributing to their long term progress, then you’ve produced transactional value like any other commodity. And you’ve wasted an opportunity to reveal your organization’s experience, expertise and competency in a way that differentiates your business.  But, if prior to proposing your solution, you discover why resolving the customer’s need would contribute to their success, then your …

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Change Takes Practice

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Wherever change energy is initially directed, there will be uncertainty, disruption, fear and discomfort among those who are impacted by the change. As a result, the first reaction to change initiatives is likely to be resistance; once the impact is clarified, advocates emerge who refocus their energy on learning more and seeking a means to contribute.  Leaders realize that inspiring these change advocates to invest their talent, energy and time is the first critical milestone in the change …

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Your Culture – Your Choice

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Organizational culture is always evolving, moving in one of two directions. One track leads towards more openness, collaboration and transparency. Moving the other direction brings greater control and dependence. A leader’s vision and beliefs, when aligned with the organization’s, drive the cultural direction for the business. And that choice impacts growth and sustainability, how the company operates and how it prioritizes potential investments. Given the increasingly dynamic nature of markets, the incessant rate of change, …

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3 Questions People Ask To Judge Their Leader’s Credibility

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Credibility is the primary reason that people choose to follow their leaders. Numerous studies validate this fact.  Credibility is the quality of being believed and trusted. It’s about reliability, authenticity and accountability… walking the talk, keeping promises. People ask 3 questions to judge their leader’s credibility: 1. “Can I trust you?” Credible leaders understand that their actions live long after their words. Leading by example and fulfilling promises strengthen a leader’s credibility. Encouraging comparable behavior among all team members builds …

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Questions for Leaders

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The pace of economic change continues to accelerate, driven by global competition, rapid developments in technology, and the shift in transaction power from seller to buyer. Businesses are perpetually disrupted by the need to respond faster in creating strategic value for customers, or suffer the consequences if they cannot do so quickly enough.  It’s an economy that demands agility and innovation to create value and sustainability. Creating value is difficult work, much more challenging than extracting it …

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Proposing Investments, not Transactions

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How you respond to a prospect’s inquiry determines their first impression about your company and how you do business. It’s your initial, perhaps only, opportunity to differentiate yourself in their eyes.  Reacting with urgency is essential, but promptly proposing a product or service to address their immediate pain, without first seeking to learn why resolving the problem is important, wastes an opportunity to reveal your organization’s experience and competency, and your genuine interest in their success. Your proposal will …

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Adapting to Customer Centricity

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Bob Schultek Author of  The Gauntlet In this increasingly customer-centric market, here are some organizational issues to consider: To generate growth, profitability and sustainability, ensuring that a business is continually creating strategic value for customers is a primary responsibility for leadership. Creating value for the business begins by first creating value for customers; customer value is monetized to validate its contribution to business value. To reliably create strategic value and strengthen sustainability, the business: –Discovers what customers value, …

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Creating Value

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  Our time is a finite, unrecoverable resource which makes it very valuable. As a leader, precious time is expected to create value for the organization. Did your leadership help your people create value today? What benefits were produced for your customers and your organization in return for the time you and they invested? Ford’s Model T was more efficient to build than any other automobile at the time, so each worker produced far more value …

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5 Keys For Teams That Move Faster

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Bob Schultek Author of  The Gauntlet Profitable growth relies upon the preservation of enduring customer relationships. Sustaining these relationships demands that a business consistently produce more strategic value for a key customer than can be gained elsewhere – value that contributes to the customer’s progress. A key factor in creating strategic value is moving faster – faster in delivering results, adapting to changing needs, and innovating. When Google wanted to move faster, they formed small, cross-functional teams to …

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