One Thing You Should Never Do If You Want To Beat The Competition

Never try to beat the competition at their game. Instead, beat them at your game.

It’s very tempting to want to beat the competition in everything that they’re good at. But, think of Michael Phelps: even he—the most decorated Olympian of all time—didn’t try to compete in Olympic races that weren’t his strength—like the 100m and 400m freestyle.

Companies only have a limited number of resources. So, when they try to improve their weaknesses to be competitive, they often end up ignoring their strengths, which are likely what their customers love about them and make them unique. And, if they improve their weaknesses to the detriment of their strengths, they end up just being undifferentiated from the competition: either ends up being as good a choice to their customers.

If you’ve built a strong vision for your business, the plan for achieving it should focus on your strengths. Sticking to a strength-based plan for achieving your vision is a key to success.

Are you doing anything that isn’t a real strength just because the competition is excelling at it?

Cultivate Workplace Passion

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, you need passionate people because such people can drive extreme and sustained performance improvement.

What does a passionate person look like?

• They bring noticeable energy to their work
• Searches for new, better, solutions to challenging problems
• Takes meaningful risks to improve performance
• Cuts across silos to deliver results
• Are happy to go to work each day, which translates to less sick time off
• Are loyal to their employers
• Work as needed to get the job done; and, perhaps most important
• Performs at a higher level with each passing year

In addition to the above, passionate teams:

• Inspire others around them because passion begets passion.
• Willingly create a team-oriented atmosphere.

The following five strategies are designed to instill more passion into your workplace:

Make it a priority

Look for passion at every step, particularly at the beginning. Include questions about passion in the interview process and be willing to prioritize it over experience and credentials to find people who share your passions and interests.

Connect to emotions

People need to know that their work matters and see how it all comes together. Encourage them to engage with customers and other ecosystem partners. The more that they feel that they’re innovating and making a difference the better.

Break down barriers

Sometimes the biggest obstacles to passion are barriers that prevent people from “making it happen.” Silos, real or imagined, exist in almost every workplace, particularly larger entities. By encouraging people to work cross-functionally, you tap into their connecting disposition and keep them from feeling confined, which can drain their passion and sense of possibility.

Craft the job around their interests

The sign of a good coach is that s/he develops a system and game plan around the players. Teams that have a particular type of personnel do best when they take full advantage of the talent and abilities on the roster.

Build their capacity

Offer training and educational opportunities to help your people grow and become more confident in their work. Nothing drives passion like a profound sense of ability and aptitude. Also, encourage your people to connect with others in their industry. This will offer many benefits, including new insights, stronger connections, and leads — and, perhaps most important, an outlet for folks when they need advice or someone to talk with.

http://cultbranding.com/ceo/cultivate-workplace-passion/