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Certain companies consistently lead or dominate, their industries. They are feared by their competitors. Here are the reasons why they lead:
- Marketing, in all forms, in detail, is the driving culture of the company.
- Getting and keeping #1 or #2 market share in their selected niches is their most worthy marketing mission. They ruthlessly and relentlessly compete for market share. Making acquisitions is a growth strategy, to increase and defend market share.
- They know precisely what business they are in, and use that knowledge for positioning their products and company. And they stay in those businesses.
- Procedures, processes, methods, no matter how sacrosanct or successful, are constantly under objective review. Every piece of the business is subject to rethinking, re-evaluation, and rationalization. These companies constantly innovate.
- They worship at the altar of product quality. Quality is defined by the customer. As the customer perceives the quality, so it is. There is no compromise on quality. Quality is marketing, not manufacturing, issue.
- They are always making things better no matter how good they are. They do not leave well enough alone.
- Management is expected to deal with the world the way it really is. Reality thinking is mandatory. Candour, honesty, questioning, homework, debate, and hardheaded clarity are the rules.
- Change is understood to be constant. These companies know that external environments are influenced by all kinds of factors, including competition. Change and the need to adopt are considered windows of opportunity. The company leaders do not fret; they think and act.
- There is no illusion about the competitive environment. They recognize the competition is out to eat their lunch. They keep good competitive intelligence, particularly in areas of cost and innovations. Because they are innovators, their basic competitive strategy is to preempt competition and put them on the defensive. Because they want the number one market share, they plan a marketing strategy with care and execute that strategy perfectly.
- Great athletic coaches and teams have a characteristic common to killer competitor companies: They recruit the best athletes, train them carefully, and put the best players on the field. They get good people at all levels and functions.
- Good companies prosper because of good people. However, the census is considered cancer. Hiring good people, but not a lot of people is the guideline. This means not having a lot of layers in the company, especially between the CEO and the customer. Bureaucracy is the enemy.
- If a person is not directly or indirectly responsible for keeping good customers, his or her job is not needed. In killer competitor companies, support service is not relevant to the core business, Such as cafeteria service and mailroom management, are farmed out to companies whose only business, for example, is cafeteria services. It is better to buy services than to staff for them.
- These companies understand it is better to own a market than a mill. Manufacturing takes direction from the marketplace.
- The cutting of bureaucracy and layers and irrelevant factors is part of their culture. They eliminate parts, reduce meetings, speed analysis, cut memos, cut paperwork, cut steps, and free up time to make things simpler. To compete, the organization has to be quick, direct, and nimble.
- They value strategy and execution, not endless planning and analysis. Their three most important words in strategy are “execution,” “execution,” “execution.”
- They look at markets globally and with a macro view. They consider global changes and scenarios. They play what-if war games: What might a competitor do? They put themselves in the shoes of the competitors, customers, and shareholders and look at their company through those eyes.
- Everyone knows the company strategy, abides by the culture, helps to adapt and implement change no matter how wrenching, and knows how to get and keep customers.
