In order to successfully position your organization in the marketplace, leadership teams must create a compelling and distinctive value proposition. Customers must believe you are there to champion their needs, not just to make a profit. However, defining a really attractive value proposition is actually the easy part. The hard part is getting the organization totally aligned and in sync with a customer focused value proposition. Everyone in the organization must understand and see that the customer is part of their personal responsibility. This customer-oriented culture relies on front line leaders that help people understand how they fit into the strategic management of the business and why they matter.

In order for your organization to achieve market leadership development, a focused, first class strategy is required. Leadership within the organization must create a truly compelling and distinctive value proposition under this strategy that will cause customers to seek you out in an over-crowded, competitive field. Forming a really attractive value proposition is often the easy part. The harder part is creating a customer oriented culture to support the proposition. You can master the art of improving the value of your products and services and become a very tough competitor, but it is simply impossible to achieve market leadership without being effective in the discipline of customer intimacy. Let’s face it, most of us know those suppliers and vendors whom we refuse to work with because of the poor response we receive when problems develop.

A Year Long Process

This past year, I had the opportunity to spend five weeks with a group of twenty five middle-level managers from Latin America. We were involved in a program designed to help the group focus on a series of leadership skills that would ultimately add to their leadership development. This great experience culminated just this past week with some great training experiences. Even more exciting was what has happened in the lives of these participants over the course of a year.

A few years back, a friend of mine was laid off from his high paying corporate job. Prior to this, he was living the good life, as they say. A very expensive home, a new luxury car, vacations to the best places, and it seemed as if my friend had money growing on trees. I was very happy for him.

A Leader Becomes A Leader: Inspirational Stories Of Leadership For A New Generation

This book definitely belongs in any office. It is a great resource for inspiration as well as a review on the elements of leadership. The only problem with this book is the dimension and size. It is such a rich resource that I would have preferred it in a shelf friendly size rather than for a table. However, it has found a place in my office.

Change for many people is stressful, but for others it can be tremendously traumatic. Dr. Thomas Holmes and researchers at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine, who developed the Life Change Index Scale rated the factors that caused stress from the low (11) a minor traffic ticket to a high (100) the death of a spouse. Different types of business change fell midway on the scale between 20 and 46. Because this study is based on averages, a change stress rating of 47 may not impact one person as much as it may another. As business leaders, we understand that change is inevitable. So we must be aware of how change affects our co-workers and steps we can take to make the transition more comfortable for them and in turn for the success of the initiative.

Personal Example

In a previous organization, I worked for a manager who embraced new styles of leadership. Each time he attended a training workshop, he arrived at work the next day claiming it was a life changing event. Each time he would instruct his management team to immediately change their leadership style to incorporate his new learnings. While most of his initiatives were good and became part of our culture, unconsciously he created confusion, frustration, and finally he destroyed any trust his employees had in him as a leader.

Cold and Flu season has been in full force the past few months. It seems that every individual in our office has been affected in one way or another. If not themselves, it’s been a team or family member hit hard by the latest “sickness” that happens to be going around. I would advise against taking them any hot chicken noodle soup. In doing so, you might be tempted to take a little work to your sick teammate. Avoiding this temptation will be better for you and your teammate in the long run. You want your teammate better as soon as possible. Have the soup delivered instead!

Research suggests that individuals can achieve an improvement in work performance by as much as 20-25% simply by goal setting. Does that statement make you want to read further? If this type of return on investment was the next big deal on Wall Street, I would have everyone’s attention. Goal setting is not a new concept yet surprisingly, it is often ignored or forgotten.

We are often asked the question what is the end result of applying strategy on a day to day basis. Through extensive research and development, we have discovered that great strategic thinkers in any job or at any level learn how to nurture these skills. They avoid being seduced and succumbing to the activity addiction. Good strategic thinkers develop their skills by practicing and hunting “small game” such as projects, assignments, and team issues. Later, many assume key corporate positions or become political leaders or military strategists on a much larger scale.