The Power of Pillars: Support What Matters Most in Your Business

Let’s imagine we’re hanging out and throwing some darts at a board. But instead of a standard board with standard points, the different sections are labeled with business goals. 

On the outer rim of the dartboard, you’ve got the quantitative goals: the revenue, the number of new leads, the sales . . . in short, the measurable numbers that indicate growth (or lack thereof). 

All very important, yes, but we’re just skimming the surface of the deeper vision.

What if we got a little closer to the core of what drives us . . . what gets us out of bed every morning? Sure, we all want to make money, but you and I both know that without a more meaningful and defined vision, it gets harder to find the motivation to progress in creativity and purpose. 

It’s even harder for your team, who is looking to you for inspirational leadership.

Put Pillars First

So, instead of looking at spreadsheets and bank statements . . . figures that merely put us on the board but don’t necessarily set us above the competition . . . what if we changed the focus to a more qualitative evaluation of your business? 

And instead of crunching the numbers from behind our desks, what if we looked at the business from the client’s perspective?

The client experience is the bullseye.

If you like looking at raw data, you can still create objective and measurable goals around how your clients perceive your business. But instead of focusing on the sales you need to make, consider the number of clients you get to help. Imagine what could happen to your business if client retention and positive reviews become the reason you go to work every day.

Shift Your Entire Team

Looking up from numbers on the screen to those face-to-face connections will change more than just your personal outlook; honing in on the client experience has the power to change the entire work culture. 

If client satisfaction represents the roof of your metaphorical business temple, then the pillars holding it up need to be strong, stable, and clearly defined. When goals are simplified and authentically supported, it’s mind-blowing how much happier your team can be. 

Imagine a work culture defined by: 

• True fulfillment
• Substantially lower stress levels
• Joyfulness and gratitude every single day
• Sustainable growth withOUT employee burnout

If we commit to cultivating a healthier business that is not obsessed with the numbers, but with long-term contentment, the decision-making and overall energy can blossom in game-changing ways.

Practically Speaking

Let’s be honest for a sec. Idealism can lack practicality. A team meeting once a quarter isn’t going to keep these pillars *top of the mind* for your team. Inspiration wanes if it’s periodic and not authentically implemented into the culture. 

So how can you centralize these pillars so they are at the forefront of your company’s operations? (No, I’m not talking about a bulletin board here.) I’m talking about a systematic approach to injecting company values into day-to-day execution.

There are countless apps to promote productivity, communication, and data tracking . . . but more productivity fails to place your values-based business pillars front and center. 

And efficiency without a “why” reduces your team to robots who are checking off tasks. 

Just as the client experience gives a face to the numbers, established and clearly defined goals give meaning and purpose . . .  and a more human approach . . . to the entire operation.

Here’s a litmus test to determine if certain operations and tasks can stand as a pillar. If we could set the business to run on autopilot, would it be healthier with the passage of time? If the answer is YES, then we go all in. And if it’s a NO? We let the idea go. 

Now, if the answer is a maybe, we’ll challenge it until we have a definitive answer. There’s nothing new to implement unless we are 100% certain it’s beneficial in the long term.

One Solution (to rule them all…)