When “Good Enough” is Not Acceptable
Contact Us John worked at a financial services company. For seven years, he learned “on the fly” – no manual, no instructions.
Sharing ideas was not encouraged at the firm, so he created his own system of processes. It was manageable until his coworkers began leaving the company (of their own volition or because they were terminated) and he became tasked with “picking up the slack.” He was hard working and dedicated, but in time his workload became overwhelming and he was getting burned out. He raised his concerns to senior management, but they didn’t take his comments seriously. After all, he almost always met his project deadlines, and customers only complained on occasion. In their view, the way in which the company operated was good enough.
“We’ve always done it that way…”
There are business leaders in every industry, in every state, and across the world who admit their company’s efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability could be improved, but they decide “it’s not worth it.” (We’ve worked with enough of them to make this statement.) The reason? Nothing about their company feels “broken” to them. Day after day, year after year, employees come to work and do their part to help generate revenue. They assemble product, keep computers running smoothly, follow up on orders, find new customers, process invoices, promote their offerings to their prospects, and more. And if you were to spend time poking around these organizations, asking questions about their structure, systems, and processes, in response you would repeatedly hear the refrain, “We’ve always done it that way.”
From Good to Great
In 1994, management consultant Jim Collins published Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t. Collins wrote that good is the enemy of great, observing that many companies don’t even strive to be the best in their industry. They settle for mediocrity.
But when a business leader wants to take a good – or “good enough” — company and transform it into a great company, he accepts that he doesn’t have all the answers.
Moving Toward a Better Future
When we are brought in to meet with corporate leaders it is because they have made the decision that “good enough” is no longer acceptable. Financially, operationally, and culturally, they want more.
The process of becoming “great” begins with a lot of questions. The answers reveal the challenges to resolve — from process gaps and redundancies to unhappy employees. And it is the answers that equip an advisory partner like us to select employees to collaborate and implement changes that lead to a better company.
Look around your organization. Can you identify the employees who can help move your business forward? They are people who:
- Don’t know how to…
- Don’t have the power to…
- Do not have the knowledge about…
- Do not have the time to…
- Do not have the financial resources to…
Corporate leaders don’t always recognize it on their own, but they have the power to transform their organization by reducing the fear, hope, and assumptions employees feel they are stuck with, and leading them away from the “good enough” mindset.
To learn more about how VENN Strategy Group transforms “good enough” companies into great companies, please contact us.