I know I know. You might be thinking that I have lost my mind. After all, economists are saying we’re in for another bad year. Is it possible for you to overcome all odds and find success in these trying times?
My grandpa VanNatter died when I was eight years old. To date, it is the most difficult death I have ever dealt with. My grandpa lived just a few homes down from me when I was a young boy and just about every day I spent a few hours with him as he’d build bird houses, carve apples, feed the chickens, and use me to clean the gutters on his house.
My grandpa loved peppermint candy and each year around Christmas time he’d have a huge peppermint stick. It seemed to me it was 3” in diameter and a foot long. He’d use his Buck knife to carve pieces of it off for us.
One day while grandpa wasn’t around I decided to take the whole stick home with me and hide it under my bed. I didn’t sleep well that night. The next day after school grandpa asked me if I had seen his peppermint stick. I couldn’t lie but I just couldn’t admit that I had stolen from him. I just sat there and cried. He then said, “Maxie, why don’t you got get us that peppermint stick”.
I remember running home with tears in my eyes, hoping all along that my mom wouldn’t see me and ask what the matter was. I quickly ran back to grandpa and returned him the peppermint stick. I told him I was sorry. I’ll never forget his response “little Maxie, I love you no matter what”. Now being a bit of a Bible thumper he wasn’t quite finished with me yet. He had me crawl up next to him in his lazy boy chair and then began to share with me, as he often did, his favorite bible stories. Somewhere in there he taught me that I needed to make decisions based on my core beliefs. He taught me that everything I do in life should be a reflection of the things that are most important to me. He taught me to look inward and to ask “why”.
The main difference today between organizations that succeed and fail is there approach to their customers. Most organizations work opposite of how they should. They first identify what their product is, they then work on figuring out how it fits into the market, and then maybe, just maybe, they identify why it exists.
Apple is different and I’ll use them as an example as they’re known by virtually everyone as a very successful organization. Apple starts with the “why” or “purpose” in mind. I’m not talking about profits either. They are passionate about the experiences their customers should be having with technology and they develop technology around that belief. They are focused on how their customers feel about their experience with them.
I would suggest that as we build our business plans and strategies for 2012 that we forget for a moment the “what” and “how” of our product. Focus on “why” you do what you do. What is it that you love about your profession and the people you serve? Once you identify these things then you can start to build your “how’s” and “what’s” around these passions. Following this method will not only separate you from your competitors, but it will help you to build a sustainable and therefore successful business plan.
I wish you the best of success as we prepare to move into another year. I hope that 2012 will be your best year ever.
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