One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature is competition. The desire to overcome something or some company, the need to win, the cause, can in many cases be more important than the day-to-day work of the company.
If your company and your people are to ever reach some level of greatness, you must identify and focus on beating something, on creating and communicating a reason for being.
If your reason for being is that you got fired, so you decided to go into business for yourself, then maybe all you will ever create is a job.
Now, understand that when I say enemy or competition, I'm not necessarily suggesting something negative. While the folks at Apple Computer will tell you that their reason for being is often rooted in beating Microsoft, many organizations also draw motivation from saving things, ridding the world of things, creating peace, making life more enjoyable, teaching, sharing, spreading and a host of other very positive things.
And that's the point. Small business owners often have no readily identifiable group of competitors or Goliath to aim at but they may find motivation in a great cause or reason for being and connecting that that great cause can become the drive to play the game at the highest level.
Your cause can be grand or it can be humble, but find it and you will be much more prepared to market your business, run your business with passion, hire people who support the cause and create a vision for your business. Great causes possess the power of attraction.
Think what you do isn't grand enough to call a cause?
I will rid the world of bad advertising, one ad at a time. We will prove that tax preparation can be fun. We will empower anyone to buy a home. I will make my customers so overwhelmingly thrilled they will refer their friends and neighbors willingly. I will ensure that no one will ever be afraid to go to the dentist again.
Are you starting to see how this kind of thinking and the notion of focusing on competition could help drive your actions?
What if you could actually connect your beliefs and values to your reason for being? Would that provide motivation to do more? Would that start to feel like more than a job?
So, what is your organization's cause for being? Aim high and let your cause guide you, your people and your clients to greatness.
Copyright 2004 John Jantsch
About The Author
John Jantsch is a marketing coach and the creator of Duct Tape Marketing. Find out more and recieve you free small business marketing guide at http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com.
Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is... Read More
Building a dynamic small business is a constantly evolving, increasingly... Read More
Every new business owner knows that a business plan is... Read More
Writing a business plan for a franchised outlet of a... Read More
Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More
Imagine an office without a desk, or lights, a computer,... Read More
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron,... Read More
If you're a solo professional like I am, you know... Read More
A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join... Read More
I read once that something like 30 percent of all... Read More
Businesses tend to avoid doing their annual business plan thinking... Read More
One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature... Read More
The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More
Last week we talked about a few of the ways... Read More
No matter what product or service you provide you will... Read More
Writing a Business Plan these days is tough, venture capitalists... Read More
Too much goal setting and strategic planning can leave you... Read More
The format of a Business Plan is something that has... Read More
Where would your business be without a proper plan? A... Read More
Have you been in a "brainstorming" session where each person... Read More
You have invested a lot of time and energy on... Read More
How often does your company make a quantum leap forward?... Read More
A piano tuner recently moved to Buffalo, NY, and would... Read More
One of the key challenges for any business is to... Read More
Much of what we heard in the mass media about... Read More
kitchen redo on a budget modern remodeling ...The current state of the available technology at the disposal... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
I. INTRODUCTIONThe term resilience, which is of frequent use in... Read More
Conventional wisdom has it that there are only three ways... Read More
While writing an article recently on effective ways to bridge... Read More
Growing your own small business can be one of the... Read More
Anyone who has been watching the Idaho Market Carefully for... Read More
This will make some people angry as hell, but it's... Read More
In most business plans, no matter how striking the idea,... Read More
This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More
Is there a 'magical' way to exponentially grow your business?It's... Read More
If you are in the parking business and own or... Read More
Private equity firms have raised so much capital over the... Read More
In Ohio: besides the 3-Cs you should look at Akron,... Read More
I recently took an organizational behavior class where my professor... Read More
For many consumers and producers, MSP is an acronym for... Read More
A recent conversation started with a typical question, "How's business?"... Read More
Please take a moment before you read any further and... Read More
So what makes a vision successful? Everyday companies try to... Read More
One Research Scientist at the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Imaging Systems laboratory... Read More
ACTION PLANNING: Action Planning is a process to develop strategies... Read More
One of the key challenges for any business is to... Read More
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More
Experts estimate that 90 percent of Australian businesses are overspending... Read More
Are you frustrated by the lack of growth in your... Read More
Strategic Planning Strategic Planning |