What defines success?
Success means different things to different people. To some it’s being the biggest, the best or making the most money. To others it’s being held in high esteem or being recognised as an expert.
To me being successful in my business is about building something sustainable and meaningful. It’s about getting up every day and running my business in line with my values and purpose. It’s about finding balance and making my business work for me and my family. It’s about connecting with other people in business, making a contribution and creating something bigger than just me.
Am I being idealistic? Or is there a way to combine the two – follow my values and create wealth? Research now backs up what many of us have been doing intuitively. In a 2010 study mapping the values of more than 2,000 organisations over 10 years in more than 60 countries Richard Barrett asserts that:
“values‐driven organisations are the most successful organisations on the planet”
because
“Values and behaviors drive culture
Culture drives employee fulfillment
Employee fulfillment drives customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction drives shareholder value”
He goes on to state that “in Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras show that companies that consistently focused on building strong values‐driven cultures over a period of several decades outperformed companies that did not by a factor of six, and outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen.”
So what makes a successful business?
Successful businesses tend to have several, if not all, of the following characteristics:
- Authenticity
- Ethics before profit
- Driven by their values and purpose
- Inspirational leadership
- Internally-motivated staff
- Nurture relationships with customers, suppliers, community and other stakeholders.
I believe we can honour our values and create wealth at the same time.
Yours in happiness.
Dianne Krome (founder of Equilibrium Business Consulting)
Equilibrium was born out of a desire to share my experience in business with other small business owners and help them along their business journey. Equilibrium works with small businesses in Brisbane and surrounds. Sign up to Dianne’s newsletter to get free business tips to help manage the balance in your professional and personal life to achieve your ultimate goals.