In discussing systems and processes with various business owners we often ask, “What are the standards?” What we mean is, “What level of service or performance excellence do you consider the norm for a particular action or for the business as a whole?”
You may be surprised that some operators have never considered the question. We sometimes get, “Well, as long as it sells, or as long as it works…then we are satisfied” or “We’ve never discussed with our team what we really expect.”
The members of our teams are not mind readers…if they do not know the standard that you, the business leader, expect, how can they meet or exceed it? Does your team know your expectations of them? Do you know what your customers expect of you and your business?
Maybe the first standard to work on is communication. When? How often? In what manner? Through what channel? How do we measure success? These are just a few of the questions that great business leaders answer and refine over time.
High standards bring high results!
When we begin to allow our standards to slip, what we are really saying is that we don’t have to be this good all the time…and if this happens effort, pride, and results begin to disappear. We must constantly evaluate our standards and our desire to consistently meet them.
What’s your standard?
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1 comment:
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