Is Good Enough?
A lot of people have read the amazing book,” Good to Great” by Jim Collins and if you haven’t, then it is likely you have heard about it.
The premise of the book is good is the enemy of great. The research that produced the book, involved years of working through stock market data and identified just a few businesses that stood the test of time and the traits that made them great. It also documented the circumstances leading up to their breakthrough. Collins called this the flywheel effect.
But, is good really the enemy of great and how does this concept fit in an entrepreneurial SME business?
Having worked with some great SMEs in over 20 years of mentoring and coaching, I can tell you, good can be pretty great. Having said that, the lessons and traits Collins identifies, if applied in an SME context can lead to extremely successful businesses and significant breakthroughs. Let’s look at one of Collins principles that on first glance, may not be seen to be particularly relevant in an SME business.
Collins “Hedgehog” concept (how we compete) has an element that says we should focus on “what you can be the best in the world at”. This is obviously a lofty ambition for your average business owner and on the surface appears out of reach. What if we pair that back a bit and look to apply it through three basic principles?
1. Market – Choose your market wisely and ensure there is clean air opportunities to get effective margin and you have the ability to compete to a high standard.
2. Destiny – Make sure your destiny is in your own hands and not determined by a reliance on a third party that you have no control over. An example maybe that your whole business is built on a Facebook platform and the algorithm changes. Ensure your business model is controlled by you.
3. Get better at what you’re good at – You already have the capability which the market values, so how can you amplify this 10 times and build capability so the customer has no option but to go with your business?
Good to Great is an awesome book with wonderful guiding principles for business success. The opportunity for SME’s is to think laterally around these concepts, get our systems and our offering to good first, then target great. In driving our business aspirations, creating clarity about how we compete and amplifying what makes us good we can drive to great.