Assessing your Business (or yourself!)

Many of the business leaders I coach want to be confident that they are 'keeping all the bases covered' and not missing something important. This can be true also for people who are looking for a new job.

I find myself using a fresh lens, to see the organisation mainly from the perspective of those whose needs the body is aiming to meet (e.g. clients, customers, donors, beneficiaries - or even a future employer).

Core - can you articulate what defines and differentiates you, what you stand for, and what you are seeking to create?

Coherence (as in a laser beam) – is the Core (above) owned by everyone? I.E. is everyone sharing the same vision and values, clear about what services are being offered and to whom - 'on message?'

Credibility – do you look and act the part? Do you ring true?

Culture (or Character) – do your people and teams have the personal qualities to deliver a good service? Do you walk the talk?

Connectedness – are you in touch with the way that the resources, needs, and budgets of your organisation relate to the those of

(1) your staff

(2) your marketplace (clients, customers, donors, beneficiaries)

(3) your suppliers

(4) other organisations similar to yourself who may be competitors or may be collaborated with

(5) owners and investors

(6) the wider community and any other stakeholders

(7) the environment

and the ways that these are changing?

Competence – are you and your team skilled to provide the products or services that you offer? Are you implementing training to deliver on future plans?

Capacity – do you have sufficient resources (people, equipment, buildings, finances) to meet forseeable demand?

Consistency – do you have appropriate processes in place to make sure that you support staff, maintain equipment, etc. to deliver services well all the time? Do you gather feedback to learn and improve, from inside and outside your organisation?

Compliance – do you meet all legal and contractual requirements appropriately?

and a couple more as a bonus...

Celebration - how do you collectively celebrate success?

Congratulation - what do you value apart from achieving results, and how to you give praise where praise is due?

I hope you find this helpful. It is a work in progress, so comments are welcome.

To do new things we need to see in fresh ways.

MORE DETAIL

Examples of how to apply these items in a business situation

A shorter example, applicable to people considering applying for a new job.

BACKGROUND

In many situations, during some 35 years or my working life, I've found myself needing to assess a business or charity. Many ways of assessing businesses seem to look through too narrow a lens, and not fully recognise that success in enterprise is ultimately about effectively matching organisational strengths with people's needs. This is about relationships ('people buy from people'). So it's about 'soft' data as well as 'hard' financial data.

Typical business reviews look at an organisation functionally (finance, marketing, human resources, operations...) or at the financial profit to the owners of the business. Marketing and strategic tools such as the Four (or five) "P's", "SWOT" analyses etc. are valuable, and have their place, but are not complete in themselves. So I have felt a need to develop an alternative approach.

developing excellence