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Achieving excellence through simplicity

In an increasingly complex world, where competition can come from anywhere on the planet, is it possible to excel relying on simplicity? The answer is in the question. To achieve excellence, more than ever, we need clarity, focus and simple business models to manage our companies. However, this is easier said than done. An organization consists of human beings and naturally depends on the pressures that exist between expressed directions and actions taken. The image you want for your business does not always survive events that present themselves in the short term, although they can lead us elsewhere.

Why do we need clarity?
To achieve clarity in defining an organization, we must be aware of the benefits this procures us, without forgetting all the problems that can occur within a company with multiple personalities.

An organization that has clearly defined why it exists and what it wants to accomplish sends an unambiguous message to the market, its customers, employees and partners. If the organization has enough discipline to maintain its vision and values in everything it does, it constantly reinforces and refines this message. This considerably increases its chances to truly accomplish and achieve excellence.

• It attracts and develops the loyalty of its customers who share its vision. Result: Less effort required to demonstrate conviction, less manipulation and marketing and more references from customers who found what they were looking for.
• It recruits, retains and mobilizes its employees who recognize themselves in its message and are naturally inclined to pursue the common dream. Result: Less effort required to motivate employees and easier to attract the best available human resources.
• It knows how to learn lessons from its experiences, either good or bad, and makes the necessary adjustments. The orientations must be clear and it must be possible to achieve the desired objectives. Polishing a well-defined model based on the results obtained is easier than constantly making changes to an unfocused organization.

Unfortunately, the reality of our SMBs is often the opposite. There is some confusion among them. The employees do not always know what is expected of them. The company exerts a great deal of energy struggling with certain customers with whom it shares nothing. Potential customers are distrustful. They do not know what to expect and hesitate. Developing new partnerships to increase growth opportunities is a risky and often disappointing process. What follows is adequate performance, but not more. However, not enough players that distinguish themselves achieve excellence and maintain it.

Defining and disciplining oneself
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins tells us that his research shows that companies that excel are more closely related to hedgehogs than foxes. The hedgehog is very simple, not very elegant, but has a set idea that works and he devotes himself entirely to it. The fox is sly, shrewd and very smart, but lacks constancy and consistency.

Collins deduced the following from his examination of companies that have achieved and maintained excellence: Define a simple business model that is based on the organization’s reality and that makes it possible to achieve excellence. In his opinion, organizations should define themselves based on:

The recipe seems very sensible. It is easy to believe, but it does not produce immediate results. Some effort is required to find the concept that defines your organization and that provides the expected results, respecting the three requirements. However, the result should be precise and simple, making it easier to implement (however, without guarantees).

Once the concept that defines the organization is formulated, the adventure begins. It must first be identified in all of the actions of the organization. This is where discipline comes into play by respecting the initial concept to ensure that decisions taken and choices made allow the organization to remain focused on its three requirements. The leaders of the organization will have an essential role to play here, not by imposing discipline, but by supporting it through:

• Strict application of the system, at the expense of the exceptional occasions that may present themselves, but that do not meet the points of convergence of the three circles.
• Abandoning everything that does not fit with the new reality.
• Selecting good people who naturally support the system and will become its natural advocates without having to constantly push them to do so. This also involves courageously and respectfully breaking ties with those who cannot adapt to the situation.
• Freedom and responsibility given to employees who should apply the system in all of their daily decisions.

In short, simplicity is synonymous with clarity, rigour and precision, and ultimately with excellence... but not necessarily with ease. What remains to be seen is the type of organization you want.

Pierre Lanteigne

For more information:
Jim Collins, Good to Great; Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t, New York, Harper Collins, 2001.

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