Businesses are struggling right now, but many are simply throwing their hands up. Take the time to analyze what is going on under the hood of your business, before it’s too late. Business mistakes to avoid:
#1 – Lack of passion
Passion is the first – and most essential – ingredient for building a strong corporate culture. Every great invention, every medical breakthrough, and every advance of humankind began with passion. A passion for change – for making the world a better place. A passion to contribute – to make a difference. A passion to discover something new. With a team full of passion, you can accomplish just about anything. Without it, your employees become mere clock-punching automatons.
#2 – Lack of sense of purpose
One key is to realize that passion alone isn’t quite enough: You must also focus that passion into a sense of purpose.
Most companies have mission statements – as well as vision statements, value statements, and other official website/employee handbook fodder. But what they really need is a cause, and that’s altogether different. Once organizations know why they exist, to whom they want transformation to happen and why, they gain the audacity and authenticity to drive strategic business transformation.
Don’t confuse “cause” with “mission”. A cause is a lasting theme, an architecture that supports the transformation of the greater environment. Steve Jobs wanted to “put a ding in the universe.” Pixar wanted to reinvent the animated film industry. Pfizer is about saving lives. Whole Foods Market was founded with the goal of becoming the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket retailer.
I think Whole Foods’ highest purpose is a heroic one: to try to change and improve our world. That is what animates me personally. That is what animates the company – Cofounder and Co-CEO John Mackey in Harvard Business Review
#3 – Neglecting culture
Corporate culture is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success. No matter how good your strategy is, when it comes down to it, people always make the difference.
Executives spend a lot of time worrying about their companies’ products and prices, but they don’t spend nearly enough time worrying about corporate character. Without culture, everything else cannot work. Strategy will only succeed if it is supported by the appropriate cultural attributes.
#4 – Complacency
Complacency almost always comes from a sense of success and lives long after the success that created it has disappeared. Organizations and individuals that are complacent do not look for new opportunities or hazards. They are almost always internally focused. Complacency is a dangerous culture that permeates beyond the walls of mega corporations and extends into the reaches of every day companies and institutions.
#5 – Blind to disruptive changes in the marketplace
In a fast-moving and changing world, a sleepy or steadfast contentment with the status quo can create disaster. Organizations, and the people within them, must constantly re-invent themselves to remain competitive. Sustaining success depends on an organization’s ability to adapt to a changing environment.
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#6 – The impact of collaborative consumption
The advocates of collaborative consumption claim that the rapid rise of sharing and swapping represents a social change that is as profound as the industrial revolution. While the industrial revolution marked the beginning of mass production and ownership, collaborative consumption is slowing down the rate of production and consumption by creating new ways to get access to things without proclaiming exclusive ownership.
#7 – Holding on to the old way of doing marketing
Marketing (as in old marketing) – isn’t really working anymore, not because the media themselves are no longer effective, but because consumers have changed. Even the traditional 4P’s of marketing is under pressure to be rewritten.
#8 – Lack of employee engagement
The best-performing companies know that an employee engagement improvement strategy linked to the achievement of corporate goals will help them win in the marketplace.
#9 – Neglecting the impact of social media
Businesses to consumer industries are facing tremendous changes in the way customers wish to be served. This puts a lot of pressure on management to understand that if the consumer’s or customer’s way of behavior changes.
#10 – Lack of innovation
Unfortunately, many companies fail to unleash their most valuable resources: human creativity, imagination, and original thinking. They lack a systematic approach to building a culture of innovation, and then wonder why they keep getting beaten to the punch.
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Top 10+ business mistakes to avoid — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/mul
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About The Author
Torben Rick
Experienced senior executive, both at a strategic and operational level, with strong track record in developing, driving and managing business improvement, development and change management. International experience from management positions in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and United Kingdom