The company started 12 years ago as a provider of accounting services to government contractors based on the Deltek suite of products.  Their core value proposition was assured compliance with DCAA regulations.

Inspired by its visionary leaders Michael Tinsley and Rob Wilson, the company had expanded way beyond this core business, including:

• Expanding into new markets, specifically the Non-Profit and Commercial segments
• Providing new services, including IT, hosting, systems consulting, contract management, financial planning, and HR
• Adding new software products, including IBM Cognos, UltiPro, and more

We came to describe this new, expanded business as “The New Neo.”  Unfortunately, many things (and some people) were still stuck in “The Old Neo.”

To reinforce the concept of the New Neo, we implemented dozens of changes, including a new brand identity designed by Dashboard’s strategic partner, Red Thinking (www.redthinkingllc.com). In addition, we created new core values, a new value proposition, a new tagline, a new organization structure, a new performance management system, a new dashboard, new job descriptions, a new website, new marketing collaterals, and more.

Each of these individual changes had an impact … but the cumulative effect of all of them together has been a stunning transformation.  (There is still more work to do to “burn-in” the changes, but Neo is definitely on their way.)

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

• Vision-driven
• Mission-driven
• Purpose-driven
• Profit-driven
• Customer-driven
• Employee-driven
• Product-driven
• Brand-driven
• Growth-driven
• Shareholder value-driven
• Exit-driven
• And more

While I think there are some drivers that are better than others, the critical thing is to clarify what it is that drives your organization.  So, try completing the following sentence:

We are a _____________-driven organization, therefore, ________________________.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

“If we gave you $1 million to invest in your business with only one condition – that you invest all of the money in just one area – where would you invest it?”

You’d be surprised how many people can’t answer this question.  They often reply by saying that they would invest it in three different places.

“No, you can’t have the money unless you invest all of it in just one area.  I don’t care what it is, but you are not allowed to dribble it out into three things … or twenty seven things.  Just One Thing.”

The point of the question is to reinforce the idea that you can’t be differentiatingly great at lots of things.  In fact, it will take intense effort just to be really good at One Thing.  But high-performance organizations have the discipline to identify their One Thing and then “double-down” their investment in that one area.  It takes awhile, but eventually these organizations go from really good … to great … to differentiatingly great at their One Thing.

And that’s why they win.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

That’s easier said than done.

A recent trip to the eye doctor reminded me just how rare 20/20 vision is.  According to Dr. Tim Johnson of the University of Iowa, only about 35 percent of all adults have 20/20 vision without glasses, contact lenses or corrective surgery.

And according to my (admittedly unscientific) research, only about 35% of organizations have 20/20 vision as well.  Most suffer from some sort of vision disorder, such as:

• Myopia – Also known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, is where organizations can see near-term issues, but can’t see long-term issues.  This is chronic in publically traded companies, who often focus only on “making the quarter.”
• Tunnel Vision – Where organizations can’t see anything to the sides.  Often, they get blindsided by market shifts and discontinuities.
• Illusions – Where organizations see things that are not based in reality.
• Delusions – Where organizations dogmatically hold to beliefs that are false.
• Hallucinations – Where organizations see things that simply are not there.

Job one of every executive team is to clearly articulate a vision of where the organization is going.  After all, if the executives don’t know where they are going, how can anyone follow them there?

So, if your organization is suffering from some kind of chronic vision disorder, consult a trained professional.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking.  Accelerate Your Results.

Many organizations have adopted his ideas, including the “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal” or BHAG concept. But, in most organizations, their Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal is really a “Big, Hairy, Audacious Delusional Pipe Dream.”

These are the corporate equivalent of New Year’s Resolutions – easy to set, but darn near impossible to keep.

I prefer to see organizations take a radically different approach, one that differentiates between a vision and a goal.

First, they should articulate a big and inspiring vision. Such as, “we want to be the market share leader in our segment.”

Next, they should develop one overall SMART goal. Specific, such as “grow revenues to $3.6M by 12/31/2010.” This is specific, measurable, and crystal clear. It can be easily communicated and everyone in the organization can understand how they fit in. It can be broken down into a set of intermediate goals, such as a revenue target for each month between now and 12/31/2010.

In addition, it can be tied to other metrics which are leading indicators, such as the number of new proposals submitted every month and the overall win-rate. You can align the rest of the business processes, such as the reward and recognition system, to the goal, thus reinforcing its importance.

And assuming that people in the organization feel that the goal is realistic and attainable, they will sign up to achieve it. There is nothing more de-motivating than to have your CEO set some delusional goal that everyone knows can’t be achieved.

So leaders, have a clear and inspiring vision of what you want to be someday, but set a specific and measurable goal for what you want to achieve this year.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking. Accelerate Your Results.