Alrighty, let’s get our feet wet!
For a business, there is one thing that is crucial to success – one thing that, if absent, will lead to the demise of any business. What is that one thing? Strategic vision? An experienced leader? Deep pockets? A revolutionary product or service? Cutting edge technology? No, none of those things!
Rich DeVos, former CEO of one of the nation’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, explained this in his book Simply Rich as “A desire to do things for the right reason.” Many businesses brush off motivation and think that they can achieve true lasting success with just the right offerings, prices and branding. However, motivations and values really do matter – this isn’t just rhetoric, it’s reality.
James Collins uses historical data to back up this idea in his book Good to Great: Why Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t. After compiling research regarding business success and longevity, he found that the businesses that were able to take off and become great all had one thing in common. As he explains, “Core values are essential for enduring greatness, but it doesn’t seem to matter what those core values are. The point is not what core values you have, but that you have those core values at all, that you know what they are, that you build them explicitly into the organization, and that you preserve them over time.”
So there you have it. Whether you want to all it “passion” or “the right reasons” or “core values,” it all boils down to that good stuff that all companies are capable of having and all companies need to have to survive. So if you are just starting a business, work this type of motivation into your business plan. If you already have a company, take a moment to figure out what you stand for and what you believe as a company, and then put that driver at the heart of everything you do.
By Kate Pierce. Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Web Consulting for small businesses, Copywriting and Local Online Marketing. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and enjoys cooking, watching sports and spending time outdoors. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about marketing theory and SEM trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!