If you had the chance to take a six-month sabbatical from your company and immerse yourself in any company you wanted for that time, which company would you choose? Although the answers and the reasons vary, most people say one of three companies: Amazon, Apple or Google. Why?
All three of those companies are among the select few that sell and offer innovative products that are easy to use, says Joe Calloway, performance coach and advisor, who talked about “The High-Performance Mindset” at the 2015 NSCA Business and Leadership Conference in Tampa, Fla.
Although, Calloway urged attendees to “choose to be a green apple company,” or one that separates itself from the crowd of so-called red apples, he acknowledged the way to get there has definitely changed as the business environment has evolved.
“How do you become a category of one? The answer’s not the same now as it was 30 years ago or even a year ago,” says Calloway.
Narrowing in on continuous improvement, simplicity, clarity and focus can help companies make major strides, he says. It’s not always about sweeping differences or elaborate declarations; sometimes, doing what people want when they want it and how they want it can make all the difference.
RELATED: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
“Be the best at what matters most,” says Calloway, who urged those in the audience to take action on what’s important to them and their customers. “If you don’t know how it works, then it’s just a good idea. We all know what works. It’s much more a matter of whether we do it.”
There’s a lot of talk these days about company culture and ways to improve it. Calloway agrees it’s an important component of success.
“You’ve got a culture,” he says. “The question is whether it’s intentional. I think culture drives results. For our company to remain competitive, we have to be better tomorrow than we are today. Improvement should be part of what we do all day every day. Be so good at the basics that you’re cutting-edge.
“Look outside your industry for ideas and innovation. Hardly any innovation is an idea that springs from nothing. Almost all innovation is an idea you see over there and do it over here,” he says.
He pointed to Zappos as among the companies that does things well and those in the audience who’ve used it overwhelmingly agreed that their simplicity and strong customer service made for a great experience.
Hiring? Post an open position on the CI Job Board today.
Another important point, says Calloway, is not to rest on your success and to always be thinking of new ways to stay at the top of your market.
“Every day, wake up and say, ‘I know what used to work.’ It’s time to look for what might work tomorrow,” he says. “The things that made you successful could be keeping you from getting to the next level. Continuous improvement is hard work and it takes up your whole day.
“Whoever creates the most winners wins. Create a work environment where winning is about the company and not the individual. Not to expect the best from people is demeaning. People are capable if you give them a chance,” he says.
Calloway urged attendees to focusing on three things to drive their company’s success. It doesn’t have to be anything overly elaborate, despite the conventional push to create a “wow” factor that consumes many business leaders.
“The biggest ‘wow!’ factor of all time is, ‘wow, these guys get it right every time,'” he says.
The most important takeaway, though, is to not just listen to what Calloway said, but to also put some of his advice—and that of other BLC speakers—into place.
“None of the ideas you heard here are going to work unless you take action on them,” says Calloway. “We have the basic knowledge of what we should do. It’s fear that’s holding us back. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing wrong. You don’t have to be perfect when you start. You just have to start to get it right. Nothing happens until you take action.”
