Cultures are one of three, inherited, deliberate or accidental and within this article I’m going to give you three remarkably insights you can use to transform your culture into a successful culture no matter where you are now.
Whether you’ve inherited a mess, the deliberate culture is one of failure or the accidental one just isn’t getting the job done, you will have answers and actions to take before the end of this article.
As a coach I thrive when I work with people who understand success is a journey of support and nurturing and just like you, I get a buzz from seeing and feeling change happen right before my eyes!
So lets create change right now that will happen right before your eyes! To help you I’ll be giving examples from each end of the spectrum so highlight the points. Then you can figure out where you sit within that spectrum and what you can do for maximum results.
“Who do you want to work for you?”
Know who you want to attract to work for you – Let’s say you own a supermarket chain. What kind of people do you want to attract to work for you? Do you want to attract degree calibre young people or the elderly who want something to do? You’re the CEO of a charity – do you want to attract people with a caring nature no matter their age or young people seeking to fill a gap year? Or perhaps you’re a realtor (estate agent). Do you want to attract creative people who know how to act or do you want to attract people with a sense of pride when it comes to admiring the homes of others?
You see my point right?
OK, let’s move along quickly…
“Who is your ideal service user?”
Know who you want to serve – Who is your ideal customer? Who will benefit the most from the services you provide but also allow you to be the best you can be?
You have many skills I imagine yet there will be only two or three that gets your juices flowing. Yes there are tasks you have to complete but these two or three make you feel alive and worthy of enjoying life! So you have to promote these two or three aspects you provide as the main service or provision your potential customers will receive so you can feel alive and they can feel your positive energy therefore making them more likely to buy.
When you’ve figured out your best two or three services, you have to then figure out who you want to attract. An easy way to do this is write down the personality traits you want your ideal customer to demonstrate. For example are they students on a budget, are they women aged 40 plus with too much time on their hands as they have the luxury of working husbands, or are they confused people who need guidance?
Knowing who your ideal customer is gives you a sense of power and control and the ability to say yes to others who don’t fit the mould but are willing to pay for your services.
So now you’ve got two very important factors nailed. Now you have to deliver your message.
“Consistency is more attractive than uncertainty”
Be consistent with your delivery – Many organisations fail because their message becomes distorted through various reasons, one being, they hit a bad patch and change their offer and therefore confuse people who have taken an interest but now drive them away.
Imagine you sell cat accessories like scratching posts. You have customers who are interested and there’s a steady flow but sales are low. Panic sets in. You hear that dog baskets are selling like hot cakes so you invest time and money into dog baskets.
What do you think will happen to those people who have had an interest in your product but the right time to buy just wasn’t there for them? They will of course go elsewhere! You’ve just lost sales and because the dog basket market is so competitive, sales are slow because your competitors have been consistent.
You don’t want to confuse the market because a confused market is a reluctant market.
So there you go, three insights to help you create a successful culture….but before you go, there’s one more thing I have to share with you.
“Compassion is how humans feel valued and worthy of help”
Within your culture you have to instil a component of compassion.
Compassion is the one human trait that allows us to connect when things go wrong and believe me, in any organisation things go wrong.
Those organisations that use the blame game and deflect responsibility are a waste of time in my book because those problems will persist. The rug in which the problems lie under will one day be moved, and the same old issues will resurface.
An organisation that shows compassion will deal with the problems and allow new ideas and methods to be created for the better.
Written by Mike Nichols – Leadership Coach supporting Leaders to Achieve Their Vision