What Will Truly “Move the Needle”?
As a business leader, there are so many things to think about. We must focus on the safety of our operation. Cash management is critical. Assembling a high -performance team of employees is a must. And the list goes on and on.
As a leader, it’s critical to ensure your company stays focused on what matters. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, “If we only would do this or that, the business would take off,” or, “If only I had this product or that product, we could sell a ton of them.”
While there are many good and bad ideas, the challenge for you and your leadership team is not only to separate the good from the bad, but to ask the right questions. The key question I have learned to ask is, “Will it really ‘Move the Needle?’” If you believe it will, then ask, “Why?” If it is a new product or technology, what will be our, “Right-To-Win” versus the current competition and market solutions. Look for data or logic to support the decision.
Here is an example, “We should update our Company Colors.” Will we find new customers with new colors? Are we changing our company’s positioning and we need a new color to support that new positioning? If not, then why do it? This idea will cost you time and money that you can put toward ideas that will, “Truly Move the Needle.”
I have blogged in the past about how important it is to focus resources on doing the most critical initiatives with, “ruthless prioritization,” so that whatever you do in the current year, you do it very well. This can be achieved by prioritizing what initiatives are strategically critical, and/or will truly drive results.
I’m not opposed to testing concepts or different approaches, there is a value in allowing your team members to learn, but when it requires a significant investment in either your team’s time or the company’s money, then you have to ask yourself the tough question, “Will it move the needle?”
