I read an interesting article in BusinessWeek where they referenced Harvard business Professor Beer and his book: High Committment, High Performance. It looked at companies who achieved long periods of excellence. I found the article particularly refreshing considering how so many companies have lost their way as a result of a short term results mindset and greed.
One of the key takeaways from the research is that firms that win over the long term commit to a “higher purpose”. This is typically led by the founders of a firm or by a transformational CEO’s who takes over in a crises. According to Beer; Committing to a higher purpose allows these leaders to achieve the following 3 goals:
1. Performance alignment: Managing with their head, leaders develop an organizational design, business processes, goals, and measures, and capabilities that are aligned with a focused, winning strategy.
2. Psychological alignment: Managing with their heart, leaders create a firm that provides employees at all levels with a sense of higher purpose, meaning, challenging work, and the capacity to make a difference, something that people desperately need
3. Capacity for learning and change: By keeping their egos in check, leaders of HCHP firms are able to avoid defensiveness and resulting blindness.
The BusinessWeek article goes on to talk about Costco and Jim Sinegal- one of my favourite companies, their co-founder, and some of the things that Costco does differently to drive long term results. Having studied the Costco model extensively and having recently met with Jim Sinegal, (We consider www.BuildDirect.com the Online Costco of building materials) I completely agree with the praise.
So what is our higher purpose at BuildDirect? Transformation – To create a global business that positively transforms the building industry, our communities and all the people who join us in the adventure.
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