So what exactly are Better Business Basics, and where do we start? How about we start with some philosophy and opinion? The six rules mentioned in my first entry constitute my philosophy about business: make it people centered, servant led, principles or values focused, purpose driven, community friendly, and environmentally responsible. That philosophy is rooted in thirty-five years of work experience, much of it analyzing processes, risks, and performance. Add to that degrees in accounting and business administration, leadership experience and business ownership, and you’ve got what I think could be considered fairly good “common business sense”. I believe better business basics reside in common business sense. So there you have the perspective from which I speak, and the foundation on which my business philosophy rests.
I’ve also been exposed to many “current management theories” and done some pretty extensive business reading over four decades, so forgive me when I say that in my experience “fad management techniques” usually don’t work. They fade into the woodwork and you’re left with the same problems you always had. These “new” techniques rarely get integrated into your critical processes, plans, and work habits, nor do they become part of the life and job skills of your people. However, at the root of nearly every fad management technique is a better business basic, a fundamental business principle that makes sense and can be easily and naturally integrated into the fabric of your organization.
Better business basics are the essential ideas and activities that drive business success. The world of business can seem frustratingly complex, particularly in a free enterprise society. Despite the complexities of business, when you drill down through it all you arrive at a few basic truths. Every significant management approach; LEAN, Six Sigma, Balanced Scorecard, has at its foundation a relatively simple concept. At the risk of over simplifying, for example; LEAN manufacturing: reduce waste and rework; Just-in-Time parts supply: optimize warehousing and supply chain costs; corporate strategic alignment: build goal oriented productive business relationships.
The beauty of our society is that individuals privately own the means of production and distribution, in other words, capitalism. We can build organizations unencumbered by unnecessary and self justifying processes, and uninhibited by oppressive regimes, save for a few necessary regulations to help define the playing field and maybe the rules of the game; in an attempt to keep things equitable.
What we tend to do though is build organizations on something other than a firm foundation. We get wrapped up in producing profit for profit’s sake. We take unnecessary risks in search of greater performance. Common business sense takes a back seat to the drive for success and personal gain. We start thinking that business is a zero sum game. And we lose sight of people, of our own humanity in the pursuit of wealth, power, and material things. In many ways capitalism has become greed based. That “private ownership of the means of production and distribution” has come to mean “private accumulation of personal wealth regardless of the cost”. I’d like to see capitalism become need-based. I’d like to get back to that original definition and add to it “to satisfy individual or collective needs, with success measured by financial or non-financial reward”. That may sound a bit altruistic, but consider the potential for making business a positive influence in our culture and world. It’s worth the effort, don’t you think?
Business has become a negative influence in our culture and the recession stands as stark evidence. We’ve set people up to fail, in home ownership, in business endeavors, in personal growth, in relationship building, you name it. I believe it’s time to begin turning business into a positive influence in our culture and society, and in the world at large. Again, I’ll grant you that vision is a bit altruistic, but the idea is to start small and make it happen one business at a time by practicing a little common business sense, and getting back to some better business basics.
Principles or values and purpose or mission make a good starting point for business basics, because they, along with vision, philosophy, and core competencies, form the firm foundation necessary for any business to be successful. These components become not only the foundation, but also the culture of your organization. They drive every decision you make and action you take. Your organization can become one of character and integrity, given a firm foundation with the highest values and principles. In fact, a firm foundation is one of five key performance drivers, along with strategy, systems, structure, and people, essential for the success of your organization (“The Performance Driver Model”, Timothy Kight).
Remember, businesses don’t create businesses, people do. No matter how large the organization, it began in the mind of a person, it was organized on some legal basis, it began fulfilling its purpose, it may have incorporated, and ultimately may have become self-sustaining, able to survive independent of a specific individual. But it started with a person, and even the largest organizations are still directed by people. That person brought certain gifts, talents, passions and core competencies, along with an entrepreneurial spirit to the marketplace. That person experienced a calling and responded much as a person may feel called, and responds, to serve as a pastor or minister in a house of worship. That person may have been you, or it may have been someone you work with or report to in your organization. Regardless, enhancing your organization’s chances for success begins with better business basics, and with one person. That person may as well be you.
So now you know where I’m coming from. Even if you don’t agree with the opinions offered, stick with me on better business basics. I know they’ll enhance your chances for success, because I’ve seen them work.
Next up, some of the whys of better business basics…