If you recall from your time back in school, you likely were introduced to Newton’s third Law of motion that indicated that when a force is placed on something there is a reaction which happens that has an equal amount of resulting force or motion. This law of motion applies to the growth and success of a business.
When leadership injects energy into the growth of a business then the reaction is movement in a given direction. If the culture is such that the energy is delivered in a positive way, then the resulting outcome from the energy is positive growth. If on the other hand the energy is negative, then the business suffers and experiences a decline of change in the growth direction.
So how might we know if the energy or force is moving the business in the right direction?
The first thing you need to consider is where you are at and what metrics have you used to define that point in time. An example might be that your 2022 end of year gross revenues are projected to be X dollars. This is a marker which this one particular metric can then be gauged from. In 2023 when you set a new goal for gross revenues you can then trend to the projection of contribution on a monthly basis to see if in fact the strategies and tactics you are deploying are realizing the results intended.
Numbers are easier to trend and measure but there are other factors which are also influenced by the energy of the culture in an organization. For example, staff turnover is an area where you can measure the number of team members which during the course of a year come and go from an organization. Some may be engineered turnover (by design either strategic/tactical) or the other may be unplanned (team members quit for any number of reasons). For the sake of this weeks focus it is the turnover of unplanned staff exiting that is not only challenging for an organizations growth but has many impactful extensions that ripple through an organization.
When an organization experiences staff leaving for other opportunities, you need to pause and assess what is contributing to this staff shift. There can be many factors which seep into an organization that stimulate staff members to begin to question the business they are in and is there a better opportunity somewhere else. Some of these items are external and are very difficult to battle. For example, a small start up business with growing pains does not have the same financial wherewithal to match possible compensation packages of more mature and financially stable companies. This is a matter of having very clear expectation conversation in the recruit cycle of the hiring process, so all parties are entering into the employment arrangement with eyes wide open.
Another area which impacts staff and prompts them to seek new paths is when the culture begins to sour. When they don’t feel like they are part of something positive. They question if they are having an impact on the purpose and direction of the success of the business and that they are rewarded and acknowledged for participating in that outcome. Thus, the energy which leadership is either injecting into the culture is sour or there is an absence of energy being invested which creates a void. This energy (push or pull) impacts the culture and thus the engagement of the team.
This week pause and assess the energy investments going into your businesses culture. Are you pushing in a positive direction or are you pulling in a negative direction?
Looking to improve the outcomes of your business in 2023? Now is the time to engage a Promise Guide to assist you in the design of your next level of success. Give JKL Associates a call at MI (313) 527-7945 of FL (407) 984-7246.
Journey On!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS – EMAIL US AT PARTNERS@JKLASSOCIATES.COM OR CALL OUR OFFICES – MI AT (313) 527-7945 FL AT (407) 984-7246
Celebrating 30 years of Delivering on “Promises”
