We want to create one of the best run small businesses ever. We think if we have the best run company we can impact have a positive impact on everything we encounter – People and Concrete. Lofty goal, right? You bet. We are up for the challenge. A daunting task, but we think it’s a simple formula we can work towards. We have a plan that we call our 5 Steps to an Amazing Company.
What is an amazing company? How can you define what success looks like in business? Is it appearing on Shark Tank, selling a product to Wal-Mart, or maybe creating a business where each sale prompts you to then give something back, like Tom’s Shoes?
In our business, we are not searching for success by the world’s terms. We are not looking to build the next Amazon or Tesla. We love small business. The direct client interactions, the impact we can have on our team, and the support we can give our community is unique in a small business. You don’t need a policy for everything and the word ‘corporate’ never needs to be spoken.
We are not looking to be the biggest. We are steadily pursuing to be the best-run business. We are writing our own rules to success and what a well-run company looks like. You have seen these types of businesses. The ones where after working with them or walking in their shop, you leave and just think “Wow. They have their stuff together. That was a great experience.” We are looking for that.
For us, success is building a company of ‘A’ Players who live out our 5 Steps to Building an Amazing Company. We work to create the best product, have good systems, strong numbers, a caring mindset, and is living our values.
“A” Players – These are the people in our company who can complete their work with excellence and also operate with our values. An A Player gets what we are trying to accomplish with our work and makes the decision to work towards that.
Best Product – We want to design and install the best product. When looking for solutions, we look for durability, safety, maintenance, and aesthetics. We look to be the premium provider of the systems we install.
Good Systems – Systems in a business help serve us to offer consistent results in our installations and operations. We should learn from our past, and we do this through documented systems, checklists, and reminders. Systems should enhance the process not complicate things or take away from the real work.
Strong Numbers – A business should have a scoreboard for how it’s performing. Top line revenue and profit margins are important but other key metrics such as labor to revenue, our quality score, and client feedback, are the clear indicators for how we are performing. Why guess when you can know.
A Caring Mindset – A caring mindset means we care about the people we work with, our clients, and our work. It means we show respect and love to others. We take those small actions that show we care about the work we do.
Living our Values – Our values hold us each accountable for the way we work. They define how we make decisions. We must live our values.
Success to us is when we are working in line with how to build an amazing company. It’s more of a journey than a destination.
Heard. Watched. Read.
- “If we want a centered, mindful, attentive organization, we have to lead the way.” – Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s – Mindfulness Matters
- “When you lose your reputation, you lose everything.” – The Fish That Ate the Whale
- “He believed in the transcendent power of physical labor – that a man can free his soul only be exhausting his body.” – The Fish That Ate the Whale
- My current ‘repeat song’ – Worth the wait for minute 4.