CARING AND PERSISTENT
I have had the honor of walking through 100’s of manufacturing operations over the years. In every one of them, I could learn something, if only how not to do something. In most, I observed a number of great ideas and behaviors.
With those experiences, and working with a large number of client companies committed to becoming better, I see two behaviors that keep the best moving forward.
First, is caring.
High quality organizations care about their employee families, their business partners, their community, and the broader future.
Sure, we all get mad or frustrated, even with those we care about. Sometimes tough love is required. But an owner or executive cannot move an organization forward alone. Lasting success requires that all stakeholders move forward.
Meaningful success is generation after generation after generation. It is not 50 or 75 years. With enough money, an abusive organization can survive for a century; however, in time, companies that only care about the bottom line will collapse.
The second behavior is persistence.
Organizations that hop from one flavor of the month to the next will only get tired. Certainly leadership should look outside for better ideas and concepts, and some that feel right may turn out wrong. But once you identify the appropriate operating model, you must persistently infuse it in thinking and behavior.
The companies I see leading the pack develop a philosophy of improvement and are persistent with it. Activity failures are common, but are the basis of becoming a learning organization. With the value of caring leading the way, improvement will progress over time, along with development of people and organizations.
Persistence is wasted on a single-minded focus on day-to-day issues to the exclusion of long-term contribution to the betterment of mankind. High quality organizations live both caring and persistence.
What impact do you want to have on the world? Are you developing the environment where you can be successful?
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