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Successful and sustaining organizationsinvest heavily in creating a culture that constantly renews itself in the face of unpredictability and chaotic change.This adaptive organization is built to not only succeed in the short term by absorbing and successfully responding to unexpected market forces, it relies on being different to survive in the long run.It’s one thing to have a product or service that is unmatched by the competition, or provide customer service that is a level above others, but it’s quite another to have an entire organizational culture that is build on being different than everyone else.An organization that strives to achieve a be different culture, and use it as their strategic advantage, is known for their competencies and capabilities in these key areas.The strategic game plan of the different organization places greater emphasis on execution rather than the perfection of the plan itself.This leadership team understands that it’s not the plan developed in the image of the academics and planning experts that produces wins in the marketplace; rather it’s how well strategic initiatives are implemented that determines success.Planning sessions here apply 20% of the time available to developing a strategy that best meets the challenges foreseen over a 36-month planning horizon; 80% of the attention goes to creating the implementation plan to bring the plan to life.The intent is to get the plan just about right; detailed attention is applied to execution — who does what by when to make it happen. Get it done and change it on the run describes the priority of this organization.
Every employee has line of sight
Standout organizations invest heavily in ensuring that every employee understands their specific role in executing the organization’s game plan.If, for example, you’re in customer service, leadership conducts workshops to define precisely what new priorities you need to adopt in the way you serve customers. And what specific behaviours you must display during every customer interaction. In the call centre environment, is the emphasis to be on processing as many calls as you can, or dazzling the customer once they have reached you?This is different than the way other organizations deal with the implementation of their game plan.Most leaders declare the intent of their game plan to employees and expect them somehow to know what actions they need to take to successfully execute it — never works; results in dysfunction and inconsistency.
Their leaders serve
Different cultures are led by individuals who ask “How can I help?” constantly. They see their role to make it easy for people to do their job.They bash barriers and eliminate the rules, policies and procedures that get in the way of effective performance.These leaders serve rather than command; they understand that high performance is a function of how well people behave and what they produce day in and day out.Taking care of people is the key to capturing their hearts and minds and this can only be achieved through servant leadership.
They have an ONLY statement
Most organizations’ describe their competitive advantage by using words like “best”, “number 1” and “market leader” — “We are the number 1 provider of quality internet service in Canada” is an example of the type of declaration that is often used.These types of claims are aspirational at best; they are difficult to easily prove and therefore lack the credibility to be effective. People generally don’t believe these types of statements; they are viewed as hollow and are mostly ignored.Unique cultures search for how they can be the ONLY ones that do what they do.They strive to claim a position in their market that is unmatched by others. “We are the ONLY ones that…” is the expression they use, backed up by evidence to prove their point.
Their sales people don’t sell
In fact they don’t push their products and services at people; flogging is what other organizations do.The special organizations spend 99% of their time with a customer determining the problem they need solving and the remaining 1% actually offering a solution.Incomparable sales organizations are all about building deep relationships with their customers realizing that sales and revenue come from intimacy without having to overtly sell anything.
They live in the be different moment
They treat every moment as an opportunity to be different; it’s the lens through which they that govern what they do and how they do it.In these organizations, being different is more than a mantra, it’s an operational and planning trigger for every employee.And people are measured on how they apply the concept; it’s integral to the performance planning process. Individuals must display the desire to be different; the more they achieve from this directive the more successful they are.What about benchmarking and adopting best practices? These concepts are persona non grata in be different organizations. They may be employed to make operational improvements but are NEVER used to achieve strategic advantage.By being different, amazing teams strive to BE best in class.Cultures built to be different don’t do normal things; they practice what they preach.
Related: This Is How to Execute Brilliantly