As you have passed the baton to your successor (Cultivating Impact Succession Planning Step Four: Exchange the Baton), you have a distinct role to play: cheerleader! It is your honor to cheer the team on in a brand new pursuit, that of multiplying the company’s impact.
If you are the Sr. leader, you likely believe that you have already maximized your company’s impact. But with new leadership, your company has “fresh eyes.” If you play your role as the Chief Cheerleader effectively, your team will view the company with a new perspective and a renewed sense of awareness. The result is the multiplication of impact.
This involves encouraging them to see the company from different angles and to consider information in new ways. The goal is to gain new insights, discover hidden aspects, or find innovative solutions by breaking away from preconceived notions or habitual thinking.
One of our clients increased their impact by reducing their sales assortment from twenty-six items to six items, and their business boomed. By helping shoppers make buying decisions from a more limited assortment, they stopped trying to be all things to all people.
John Maxwell tells the story of a lion-tamer who always enters the ring with a four-legged stool. The lions shrink back, seeing the four legs of the stool, and can not decide which one to attack. Too many choices immobilize them.
Restaurants with too many choices on their menu often struggle; Customers can’t decide what to order. Having too many products on your menu also hinders your company’s positioning in the market.
Your business is known for the unique answer it brings to the marketplace. The key is to find and embrace that uniqueness. As Cheerleader-In-Chief, you play a key role in this process.
How is that uniqueness determined? You determine your uniqueness with some investigation.
Ask the question, what can this business do better than any other company and be rewarded by its customers with a profitable and rewarding income stream?
Ask your top customers: “Why do you do business with us?”
Ask your top prospects: “Why do you not do business with us?”
Look at your numbers:
What are your top-selling products or services?
Who are your top buyers?
Riches are in the Niches
When you determine your company’s uniqueness, you will likely discover its niche. Once you have determined your niche, begin to focus your resources there. A business that prioritizes profitability fuels its purpose and finds riches in the niches by doing these three things:
Taking stock of where its business is thriving
Focusing resources in those places
Remaining true to your mission and purpose
Where are you in knowing and embracing your uniqueness? Do you understand your niche?
To help you take next steps in Succession Planning, I am offering a free Masterclass on Step Five: Multiply Impact. The class is free, my gift to you but you just need to register.
What: Cultivating Impact Succession Planning Step Five: Multiply Impact
When: January 9, 11 a.m. EST
I believe in you!
Harry T. Jones
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