“10x leaders are clear-eyed and stoic, 10xers accept, without complaint, that they face forces beyond their control, that they cannot accurately predict events, and that nothing is certain; yet they utterly reject the idea that luck, chaos, or any other external factor will determine whether they succeed or fail.”” – Jim Collins and Morten Hansen, Great By Choice
Over the course of nine years, Jim Collins and Morten Hansen analyzed over 20,000 companies in search of the highest performers and their success markers. They found just seven that fit into an ultra high-performance category they called “10x” – every 10X company beat its industry index by at least 10 times.
You know many of these 10x companies – Southwest Airlines, medical equipment-maker Stryker, and Progressive Insurance are three of the seven. They all grew aggressively in a time of great chaos, great pressure, and serious market challenges.
Collins and Hansen uncovered three core disciplines that drive success for 10xers:
- Fanatic discipline – these companies (figuratively) march 20 miles a day, rain or shine, pursing goals of growth, customer experience, and product innovation.
- Empirical creativity – they fire bullets before cannonballs, figuring out what works on a smaller and less expensive scale, before breaking out the big (and expensive) guns.
- Productive paranoia – they constantly assess risk and hedging strategies, preparing for the inevitable negative event.
Perhaps most telling, and the easiest to grasp, is this simple statement: “We have found in all our research studies that the signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change; the signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.”
What can you control? Messaging and marketing? Hiring and people development? Spending and cash flow? Pick one of them or all of them, but don’t let up – ever.
The information and inspiration for this week’s Snippet is courtesy of my friend and business coach Shawn Kinkade of Aspire Business Development who regularly hosts round table discussions on hot topics and popular books. Get in touch with Shawn here to schedule a personal presentation for your company, your clients, or favorite networking group.
photo credit: Al_HikesAZ via photo pin cc
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