It’s a commons story. An exciting, thriving small company is built upon strong values and an unswerving commitment to serve customers and its employees. A corporate culture follows that allows tremendous success and growth, and the company and its’ customers are all doing well.

Then a cumbersome, large company with great economic power sees this company and buys it in order to drive its growth. Hoping that swallowing this thriving company will be like a vitamin to the overweight behemoth, the large company then initiates the process of trying to make the small company into an even greater success.

The fatal transition is that the small company now must conform to the big companies’ S.O.P.”s.

• Compliance replaces the Customer.
• Savings replaces service.
• Authority replaces Influence.
• Implosion replaces Innovation.
• Control replaces Liberation.
• Process replaces People.
• Management replaces Leadership.

And so what was once a thriving refuge of excellence becomes part of the woodwork of machine that is ever teetering under its own weight.

But can this be changed? If so, How?

I believe it can. But the default mode of business is actually not a business principle, it is a personal one.

Is there a leader with real vision? If so, then does this leader have real courage?

It will take courage to go against the default mode of Business as Usual. He or she will need to fire people, but this time, it will be based on principle, not performance.

They will need to have an anchor deeply stuck in values and determination.

The herd will resist, but in the end the team that will take the company back to true success will emerge.

This new team will:

• Run through walls for their company.
• Remain inspired toward excellence.
• Be unswerving in the celebration of their lives.
• Be the very best possibility of success over competition, decline, and market position.

It’s not the only recipe for how to put numbers on the board.  Any coxswain who can bark orders can scare employees into some level of performance against a metric, but that isn’t success.

Only this kind of change can do all things well.

In the end this is the only company our world really wants.

Its up to each of us to lead toward that end.

Start today.

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