Many businesses are searching for something that will enable them to come through the current tough economic conditions successfully.
There is one consultant who declares that businesses need to create a "culture of greatness" to "power through the recession."
Everyone in the company needs to work to be the best in their roles, making their firm the best in its field, said Jon Gordon, adding that while there are no sure bets, having a company that is the best at what it does is the closest thing to get-out-of-the recession-free card.
"Any company can create a culture of greatness. Why don't they? Probably because they don't know how. People tend to think there's some kind of magic bullet or secret formula to being the best, but it's just not true.
"For an individual, greatness is all about the fundamentals," he adds. "It's about getting the basics right, over and over again, every day of the week. For a company, it's about employee doing that. It's not that complicated, really - and if we've learned anything from the recession it's that the companies that focus on the basics are the ones that survive when times get tough."
Mr. Gordon in his new book Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else, gives what he terms the habits of the best of the best.
Be willing to outwork everyone else. You might think being the best is an accident of birth, that certain people are endowed with superior genes or happen to be born to parents who live in the right zip code. Not true, says Mr. Gordon. You become the best through hard work and "zoom focusing" on the (often little and ordinary and boring) fundamentals of your particular job until you master them.
Get the little things right. Remember, there is no secret recipe for being the best. The art is in putting the recipe's ingredients together. The best take action every day and do the common tasks-returning phone calls, filling out reports, capturing customer information, preparing for meetings - with uncommon focus, dedication, and a commitment to excellence.
"To offer an example, great salespeople do the same things mediocre salespeople do," he said. "They just do so with more focus and consistency. And great companies are made up of employees who do what they're supposed to do, every day of the week."
Don't lower your standards when no one's looking. The best do the right thing even when no one can see them.
Don't focus on outcomes. Instead, focus on the process that gets you there. You know how motivational gurus are always telling you to "visualize your goal?" Mr. Gordon disagrees with this philosophy.
Whatever you do, don't rest on your proverbial laurels. Despite popular misconception, success doesn't really breed success. It breeds complacency.
For more information about Mr. Gordon and his book and philosophy, please visit
