General Electric's Mission Statement from 1981 through 1995 under CEO Jack Welch is described this way in Welch's best-selling book, Winning: "to be the most competitive enterprise in the world by being No. 1 or No. 2 in every market–fixing, selling, or closing every underperforming business that couldn't get there."
Being competitive is not synonymous with being the best, if you define "best" based on results as perceived by the customers, clients and employees you serve. Welch suggests that being the best means being No. 1 or No. 2 in every market (which in this case relates directly to revenues).
If you work for a company with this mission, I suspect at least some would do anything possible to achieve the goal, perhaps things that are unethical or beyond the boundaries. Welch specifically calls for playing by the rules and expresses his belief in integrity, but every business person and every athlete knows about stretching the rules, and I believe the GE Mission Statement might encourage that.
I believe in another kind of "winning," which is inclusive rather than exclusive and that does not shun competitiveness but does not embrace it as the central theme of a mission statement. I want businesses to instead strive to be the best they can be, the most innovative they can be, the greatest business in their industrial arena, the most honest, and the most trustworthy. And so I encourage you to align your missions and values in order to achieve those goals, but always with an eye to making the world better, instead of just to make individuals wealthier.
I am a fan of Jim Collins and his book Good to Great. Collins tells us how "geniuses" seldom build great management teams and great companies because they don't see a need to. Instead they focus on the "what"–"where to drive the bus and a road map for driving the bus" and then they enlist "a crew of highly capable 'helpers' to make the vision." Great companies, instead, focus first on the "who" by getting "the right people on the bus–" and then the "what"–once you have the right people in place, figure out the best path to greatness."
The "who" must ensure that everyone has a seat on the bus to achieve greatness. Creating a culture that is people-centered falls more into the Collins definition of rigorous instead of ruthless, which often is the driver behind bottom-line business models.
"To be ruthless means hacking and cutting, especially in difficult times, or wantonly firing people without any thoughtful consideration," Collins says. Instead, he recommends that companies create rigorous cultures.
"To be rigorous means consistently applying exacting standards at all times and at all levels, especially in upper management. To be rigorous, not ruthless, means that the best people need not worry about their positions and can concentrate fully on their work."
What he's saying falls within the goals of leading with your heart.
P.S. Excerpted from Lead With Your Heart.
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