What do great companies have in common?
As I study a variety of companies I see some common characteristics that drive the companies to achievement.
This article I will focus on two companies that I have some familiarity with.
The first company, is Send out Cards. This is a greeting card business that is driven by a community of extremely driven self motivated entrepreneurs. The company takes a simple idea like sending out greeting cards to a brand new level. They have developed systems that include a well organized data base and integrated it with technology so that you can custom design and mail out greeting cards with out having to lick, stamp or mail the card yourself. They simply have taken the work out of it so that you can be courteous and build relationships, one card at a time. This idea to some naysayers could never work. According to Inc. 500 magazine this company ranks as 158th fastest growing companies and the website ranks on the top ten list.
The second company that I would like to feature is Chic fil a. Here is a company that is continuing to grow, even with a down economy. They have a campaign that uses the idea to preserve the cow to encourage people to buy chicken. The culture of the company focuses on being healthy and has been one of a few companies that continue to display Christian values being the only fast food company that closes its doors on Sunday. They are committed to the core to ensure their employees and customers are shown by example what it truly means to reflect integrity.
The two company’s have these things in common:
Leadership commitment to continuous improvement.
Leadership enthusiastic to see those served and those who serve win.
Leadership understand that their enemy is complacency, not competition.
Leadership has a passion to reach beyond their circumstances and continue to innovate.
