RETAILING The Six Major Characteristics of a Successful Company
– by Terry Cummins, OAM, Ph.D., CEO, Terrence Cummins International Business Coaching & Consultancy Terrence (Terry) is a diver, photographer, writer, and educator. Terry has a long list of prestigious awards and accomplishments, including an Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to scuba diving.
When we look at the character- istics of the world’s most success- ful companies it becomes clearly apparent that six major factors stand out: The quality of their Leadership, the Corporation’s Culture, the Talent within their team, a keen Market Focus, use of the latest Technology, a clear
level of ethical standards in relation to how the company treats its team members, customers, and other industry par- ticipants. They also grant team members the freedom to make judgements and decisions within a clearly defined framework, which in turn contributes to job satisfaction and a healthy sense of responsibility and achievement. They reward inspiration, which in turn places the com- pany in a state of constant innovation, ultimately seating the company ahead of the rest. That is, team members in successful companies are not worried about who moved their cheese; they commonly adapt well to change and are contributors, not passengers. Meanwhile, a simple indication of a happy corporate culture and a “great place to work” can often be reflected in a team member's willingness to go the extra mile when needed and their active resistance to any aspects that may develop into a toxic workplace. Successful corporations also have a commitment to gain- ing the right talent (i.e. team members), whether the com- pany is an F1 team seeking a new driver for the 2025 season or a dive retailer developing a new sales team. For them, it begins with a strategic appraisal of the workforce available. This may include how the available talent relates to the met- ric-based key performance indicators (KPIs) of the company. This involves looking at the company in detail to iden- tify the major business components, areas that drive value, and what talent is specif- ically needed to steer the corporation to high levels of success and sustainability. That is, while a key part of leadership is about developing talent, finding the right talent initially is more about moving away from the normal criteria often employed by HR departments to a more strategic approach-one that links the search for tal- ent to corporate goals and specific outcomes for the com- pany. In simple terms, a successful diving company will not just seek a new retail sales or diving instructor team member to fill a gap, but rather will seek one that has a strong perform- ance history. In terms of sales teams, it is important to note
Business Strategy, and the ability to align these six factors as drivers of their success. It is no different for the scuba diving industry. If you want your diving company to be suc- cessful and sustainable, you need to consider how you can best incorporate these factors into your business model sooner rather than later. While you consider how to integrate these factors to pro- duce your dream company, realize that you don’t have to introduce and implement them in the order related here. But, let’s start with leadership. Needless to say, good lead- ership originates from an individual that is talented, clear in their directions, and fair in their deci- sion making. However, outstanding lead- ership is more than that! These days, good leaders build teams, not just staff. They are not afraid of team members who know more about certain aspects of the busi- ness than themselves, see high performers as assets rather than threats to their posi- tion, and are keenly focused on develop- ing the entire team’s skills. Moreover, a good leader ensures that everyone is clear about their personal, and the company’s, overall performance objectives and how this distinctly relates to team reward schemes. That is, ‘the boss’ cannot do it all on their own, so it is critical that each team member understands how their performance and be- havior impacts the entire company. Leadership is closely linked to corporate culture . Multi- ple research findings have indicated that when staff are happy, the corporation is likely to be a high performer. Gen- erating a great corporate culture is not just about salaries, wages, and other rewards. Successful companies have a high
Six Major Characteristics of a Successful Company 1. The quality of their leadership 2. The corporation’s culture 3. The talent within their team 4. A keen market focus, use of the latest technology 5. A clear business strategy 6. The ability to align these six factors as drivers of their success.
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