Finding the Rhythm of Business Acumen

In today’s complex business environment many organizations have changed their operating procedures, specifically the manner in which customer service interacts with customers. Perhaps you’ve called your health insurance provider, bank or mortgage company. When was the last time you were able to speak with a manager who was not in a meeting or just unavailable? Have call centers located in distant countries with less than agreeable employees made you feel valued or better yet, did you have a challenge understanding their native accent? The business climate has changed and getting outstanding customer service has become the exception and no longer common place.

The year was 1975 and Turn the Beat Around" broke on Top 40 radio, almost immediately topping the charts. Despite failure to crack the major markets of New York City and Los Angeles, "Turn the Beat Around" reached the U.S, spending six months on the Billboard 100.

Who could forget the lyrics that had America dancing in the streets.

With the syncopated rhythm, with the scratch, scratch, scratch

Makes me wanna move my body, yeah, yeah, yeah

And when the drummer starts beating that beat

He nails that beat with the syncopated rhythm

With the rat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat on the drums, hey

Thirty-Five years later we’re still dancing to the disco beat. Regardless of the lyrics, people are looking for a rhythm. Many organizations who aspire to compete in a highly competitive global market place struggle to find their voice, especially in a multi-cultural, multi-generation work place. Americans have been conditioned to focus on the “main-thing” almost to the detriment of silencing the voice of those who embody their organization.

Who can forget that famous scene in Saturday Night Fever when Tony Manero (John Travolta) a skirt-chasing Italian American from Bay Ridge Brooklyn strutting down the street thinking of what motivates him the most, dancing on Saturday night. What motivates employees to perform with excellence must become a governing imperative for corporate survival. Where Baby-Boomers were conditioned to get an education, find a good job and work hard, the youngest generation entering the workforce were raised to think differently, be creative and speak their mind.

Let’s not forget the tech boom, those five years from 1995 - 2000 when the youngest, brightest and most promising college grads were earning high 5 figure incomes based on creativity and inspiration. Many were jumping to the next big offer, with the average tenure to be between 6-12 months. Companies can no longer prosper with employees who embrace an entitlement mentality or who do not feel part of the “big picture”. Embracing cultural change requires organizational leaders to think and act differently.

It’s often been said that transformational leaders teach their jobs to those below them and learn the jobs of those above them. We have a rich and abundant history of Military success in America, and the reason we win the wars we fight is simple. American Military personnel clearly understand their mission. Members of the joint services operate in harmony, and although they focus on their individual area of specialty, working in tandem with the all services keeps each branch focused and in sync.

Aligning resources with the mission and vision of your organization will only serve to increase effectiveness in each area of business operations. Regardless of your “mission or purpose” following the words of Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great certainly apply. We must begin by getting the right people on the bus and the wrongs ones off. But we take it one step further, getting the right people on the business is not enough, we must now get them strategically placed in the right seats. If organizations seek to do more than just survive, and prosperity has become a governing value, mindsets will need to be re-calibrated from just getting by to abundant success.

Developing an algorithm of abundance and success in the modern business climate requires three key components.

1.  Identify the individual skill sets of team member
2.  Align mindsets with the vision of the organization
3.  Ensure people are empowered with the tool sets required to succeed.

The journey ahead is filled with opportunities for growth and prosperity. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., “Simplicity is always found on the far side of complexity.” Winning consistently requires the courage make the necessary course corrections while remaining sensitive to the needs of our customers.