Looking Back
Sometimes looking back strengthens your resource to move forward to continue your journey with renewed vigour.
It’s a great exercise and the perfect time of the year to try it.
In positioning JGF, we took advice, well we listened to ideas, read books and looked more closely into the thoughts that seemed to fit best.
Top three books?
The e myth. This has been regarded as ‘an instant classic’. It looks into and dispels the myths about starting your own business. Michael E. Gerber speaks with honesty about his own experiences to illustrate how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
Profit First. The strap line says it all – Mike Michalowicz suggests it will ‘Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine’. Its lofty promises boil down into digestible, more realistic slices of goodness that have helped us in the early days. Now, ten years on (plus), we have appointed new accountants whose advice helps us transform JGF’s growth potential – managing it rather than having it manage us.
Traction. I’ve spoken about this at length previously (more HERE). If you look at these three in order, the first drives structural and market development; the middle on counts the beans; and the third, Traction, helps formulate organisational strength.
This week, in our Fortnightly Focus, the Leadership Team Meeting took a slightly different turn. We invited another review, looking back at one of the presentations that me sit up and think when I first saw it several years ago.
WHY.
Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with WHY’ was introduced to us way back and re-presented yesterday by a member of the Leadership Team, Rodney Bashford. If you have forgotten it or have never seen it, lock the door, put the phone on re-direct, open your mind, listen, and watch Simon's You Tube video: HERE.
The message is simple, the effects, astonishing.
Every company knows WHAT they do. Most know HOW they do it, what makes them different from suppliers of the same or similar goods or services. But, very few know WHY.
Your WHY is what drives you; it’s the belief that sits at the core of the business; it’s the reason you exist and behave as you do; it’s the reason you get up in the morning.
It’s not PROFIT, it’s PASSION.
This form was handed out to myself and four others on the team to jot down first thoughts on our WHAT, our HOW and, ultimately, our WHY.
This is a summary of the results:
WHAT
All five said: We deliver high quality electrical installations.
HOW
So, five superb variations on the theme of excellence throughout.
WHY
?Well, there is no right answer, but I’m pretty proud of the ones the team have given here.
To understand more about the thought process behind the scenes of Team JGF, take a look at our Storyboard HERE.