Two Important Factors that Make a Business Shine

Why is it that some companies always seem no matter the business climate, to continue to be successful? The answer to this questions is complicated and surely contains a range of factors that are different depending on the business and industry, but there are some commonalities for consistently successful businesses that can be studied and duplicated. One for example is great leadership. Having a great business leader like Robert Stefanowski, who understands how to manage an enterprise for continuous growth, is a core requirement for the success of any business. And there are other important elements that need to be a part of the business as well. Here is a list of some of the most important.

An ability to adapt to changing conditions

Some businesses start with a foundation that is designed to adapt to market variations and customer changing attitudes. IBM is a great example of this. In the 1970s International Business Machines was as its name implied, a maker of office business machines primarily typewriters and such. When it was clear that computers would play a role in business, they got heavily into that area; first in mainframe computers and then servers, and in the 1980s they began selling small and portable personal computers, and finally laptops toward the end of the decade. In fact the first office PC was an IBM computer.

IBM was once the largest seller of office computers and when that business plateaued they sold the majority of it and were already focused on their newly powerful business area, business services. Today they are one of the largest providers of business services in the world with a business valued at more than $100 billion dollars. Throughout their existence IBM did not only have to continually remake itself and learn several new product categories, they had to do so in marketplaces where consumers were also in transition. Their ability to adapt to the needs of the marketplace and the needs of customers, is what has allowed it to remake itself and enjoy decades of success in the fast moving technology industry.

Part of the reason IBM was able to adapt is because its founders and executive management team ran a company that invited and in fact thrived on change. The company has had some rough spots but its adherence to this principal keeps it relevant no matter what is happening in the marketplace. An ability to adapt is based in having a mindset of paying attention and also being honest about where you sit in the scheme of things.

Are you positioned to win? Are you making the right decisions for growth? What are your customers’ needs today and tomorrow and are you prepared to meet them? This process of constantly looking outward and inward is necessary for a business to always be on top.

Resilience in the face of defeat

When you are in business you should expect that some of your best ideas will simply fall flat. An idea becoming a success story occurs because of many factors some which are, and others that are not fully in your control.

You launch a great product and there is a recession, your production factory has a fire and you cannot get it into the marketplace during a critical launch period, a war breaks out in a critical market for your company; these are dramatic but real occurrences that can derail the success of a product no matter how prepared, competent, or smart your team is and no matter how many resources you have at your disposal. So because you should expect failures, you also need to be resilient.

When something fails many people take it personally. The team that put the hard work in sometimes feels like they let everyone down and perhaps they are not fit to continue in their roles. The great companies fight through this. Apple computer knew they had better products that people would buy, but they were too far ahead of their time. If Steve Jobs would have given up on their dream of a company that leads in design, functionality and technology, after so many products that were well received but never reached their sales potential, there might not be an Apple Computer today. So resilience is a key attribute needed for a company to keep shining. Great businesses take it on the chin, and keep fighting.

In the business world, good advice is a rare and sought after commodity. Use this information to make yourself a better businessperson and your company more successful.