Seven Secrets of Great Enterprises

By Mark Fulton

I recently attended the National Speakers Association Eastern Workshop held in Norfolk, Virginia. Professional communicators (as they like to be called) from all over the country gathered for three days of learning and schmoozing. It was my first experience with the NSA, and I was impressed by the helpful and encouraging spirit that permeates the organization.

One of the most impressive moments of the conference was the Saturday morning general session. The speaker was Gary Hoover, founder of Hoovers.com, one of the leading providers of business information on the Internet. Hoover also created the first book superstore, which was later purchased by Barnes and Noble.

In keeping with the conference’s theme, “Wisdom for a New Era,” Hoover shared “Seven Secrets of Great Enterprises,” attributes that he says savvy organizations must own or adopt in order to make it in the new millennium. Here’s a synopsis of his seven points:

1. Curiosity - It may have killed the cat, but curiosity will enliven your business by generating new ideas, fresh perspectives and inventive methodologies. Everyone in your organization should be encouraged to develop the habit of sniffing around in newspapers, magazines, trade journal and other sources of information for tidbits that could inspire innovation. Why not create a reward system for recognizing the best data bird dog?
   
   
2. A Sense of History - Hoover added his voice to the multitude of business mavens who have identified trend tracking as a requisite skill for successful business leaders. He agreed with other prophets of profit that the Baby Boom generation is a societal tsunami that is transforming our cultural, political and economic landscape as it rolls toward retirement. Failing to understand the impact the boomers and other historical phenomena will continue to have on tomorrow’s forecast will leave your company stranded with the other castaways on Gilligan’s Island.
   
   
3. A Sense of Geography - The Internet has erased many traditional boundaries and has moved us closer to the concept of the global village. Nevertheless, Hoover asserts, we should not loose sight of the fact that geographical realities will play a key role in future. He argued that Asia, specifically Indonesia and China, will become the next market powerhouses. He said that climatic changes could again reshape growth areas within the United States. If global warming is a real concern, the Sun Belt could become the Swelter Belt and Nome, Alaska, could become the next choice location for corporation headquarters.
   
   
4. A Clear and Consistent Vision - “Clarity of mission!” is the mantra that has guided many successful business leaders during the last few decades. Hoover shared a couple of examples of companies whose consistent vision paid off during tough economic times:
   
   

• General Motors enjoyed continuous success with selling the Corvette while Ford’s Thunderbird struggled and then disappeared. The Corvette was always the same basic sports car—two seats, eight cylinders, hot. Meanwhile, Ford’s Thunderbird started out as a rival to the Corvette and actually commanded a greater market share. But then it went through a variety of permutations, ending up as a huge luxury family size automobile that didn’t sell very well.
  
  
• Johnson and Johnson weathered a potentially crippling crisis in 1982, when a lunatic put poison in some Tylenol capsules, killing several people. Rather than dump a popular product, Johnson and Johnson held to their mission of providing quality healthcare products to hospitals and doctors. They responded by pulling all of the product off the shelves, sending millions of notices to doctors and hospitals and providing full disclosure to the press. Today, Tylenol is one of the best selling pain relief medications on the market.
  
  

1. Outstanding Service - Give customers what they want today and anticipate what they will want tomorrow. See my last two columns for further ideas on this subject (available online at www.insidebiz.com).
   
   
2. Adherence to the Golden Rule. It may sound trite in this era of sophisticated management philosophy, but customers still consider friendliness and honestly to be attractive business practices. Hoover said it pays to be nice and do the right thing. Businesses that lose sight of compassion and ethics will inevitably watch their profits disappear, as well.
   
   
3. A Passion for the Mission - Hoover mentioned Toys R Us as a stellar example of a company that rose to dominance because of the passion of its people. Hard work and long hours in the early years pushed Toys R Us to the top of the toy store heap. Other companies copied their business model but failed. Hoover said that the difference was in the enthusiasm and desire to excel that Toys R Us’ leaders instilled in their employees. Customers kept coming back in those formative years, says Hoover, because of good prices and the carefully cultivated image that Toys R Us was a winner.

The NSA conference was a great opportunity for me to meet people who are out there every day teaching and motivating business leaders to take their companies to the next level. I plan to make Gary Hoover’s “Seven Secrets of Great Enterprises” part of my company’s strategy for the future. You should too.

Copyright 1999 © Mark S. Fulton