Your Business is NO Republic or Democracy
2020 has been quite the ride. Early in January the economy was going great. Unemployment was at all-time lows. If you wanted to engage your talents, there were definitely opportunities to support your wants. Then the virus arrived and began to wreak havoc on all aspects of our lives. From the direct health implications to the fallout of work and schools. Systems we thought we had a solid handle on went sideways in directions no one could have predicted. Issues of social injustice, riots, violence, and many levels of mob rule vs law rule have been being tested. As we position our personal lives and business worlds for the remainder of 2020, we also have a Presidential election which is weighing in on everyone as well.
As there is in each and every election, a lot is riding on votes cast and decisions made by you and me on candidates and other aspects of our communities. It is therefore critical that we understand the nature of rule of law vs rule of majority. In your organization there is typically a lead resource. Call them CEO, President, or owner but someone is at the top having not only the final say but also the final liability and accountability. If your business was a government some might say it would be a dictatorship. Generally speaking, you were not directly elected by your constituents to the role. You started a company and now run a company of many talented employees.
Our society here in the United States of America is governed by a Constitutional Republic. This was put in place by our forefathers to protect us all from our government. To give opportunity and framework to protect the little guy, the minority, the outcast. You might have just asked yourself that you thought our government was a democracy. Your answer regardless if you responded in the form of a question like on Jeopardy would be incorrect. You likely hear this word of democracy bantered about on media as if to train your ear and mind to believe we are a democracy but currently we are not. It is not the intent to make this a civics class or history lesson but as leaders in our business and our communities we MUST work from the perspective of fact and not guess or noise.
This communincation is brought forth as a means to bring dialogue to the forefront of business. In every organization there are challenges which need attention. The question this week is – do you have a framework of policies and procedures to deal with them? If you do then great! Are you accountable to them? If you adhere to a framework to build your business, take care of your employees and service your customers then your business is running under the premise of good business practices. You use the framework to enable and encourage rather than intimidate and diminish. This approach of investing and growing your business, assets, people, and customer base comes from being a leader and not a dictator who owns the business.
Your challenge this week is to look back upon decisions made in the past 8 months. Some were incredibly challenging with the economic shutdown etc. but give yourself some quality time to determine if you were mentally investing in the business future or putting up barricades to future prosperity. By having a framework like a constitutional republic where everyone can benefit from growth and justice so too can your organization thrive moving forward.
Interested in getting a framework in place to give navigational guidance to your business so it can run more independently? Give JKL Associates a call at (313) 527-7945 in Michigan or (407) 984-7246 in Florida and let’s have a meaningful conversation.