News Archive
Trust
The most important quality a leader whether in business or at home can have is trust.
Trust is the absolute bottom foundation on which a business is built. Without it the cost of running your business will soar.
So what does an organisation that has a high level of trust look like. One that these qualities are evident;
Close cooperation, everybody leveraging each other’s strengths, generous and inspiring talk, sharing knowledge freely, blame free.
That is trust in a day to day work environment but personal trust runs way deeper than that.
This is a story from way back when I purchased my first business. The deal was done initially on a phone call and a handshake, later we followed signing the necessary documents. Once completed it was off to the bank for finance. I went with my guarantor and again it was all done on a handshake and yes there was paperwork but the speed by which it was done was breathtaking. I asked was that all it took?
The world is a much different place now than what it was then, but your word is still your word and if that is a value you hold then you stand by it even if it costs you. Trust defines what a leader is.
Inside the box or outside the box?
I am an inside the box thinker and here are my thoughts on it. Inside the box are where all the resources are; Time, finance, systems, and human resources. Outside the box you have to create all of that in different levels and at a cost.
Pursue change rigorously and accept that the most cost effective solution may be an alteration to what you are already doing. Every small incremental gain is making your business better.
Always challenge the status quo, look at every process and eliminate what is unnecessary.
