Achieving the One-Percent Edge

M. A. Rosanoff: "Mr. Edison, please tell me what laboratory rules you want me to observe."

Thomas Edison: "There ain't no rules around here. We're trying to accomplish somep'n!"

The most important thing to remember about achieving the One-Percent Edge in your business is that it's not the result of a one-time overhaul. To stay relevant and competitive, you need to look at change as a constant. You have to adapt, be agile, and learn constantly.

The key to the One-Percent Edge process lies in a series of questions:

* Are we giving the market a reason to change its buying habits?

* Are we using the right tools and resources to work smarter, not harder?

* Are we constantly enhancing the customer experience?

* Are we looking beyond the horizon for new opportunities and unmet needs?

* Have we articulated a strong vision?

* Do we have an empowered team?

* Are we open to change?

* Do we have a strong company culture?

If the answer is yes, to these questions, then you're moving in the right direction. If it's no or maybe, then keep working on defining your edge. Throughout this book, as you review every aspect of your business, we'll ask key questions like these.

In subsequent chapters, I'll review various aspects of your business where you need to apply the One-Percent Edge process. Once you know the steps involved, I'll provide some thoughts to help you develop questions, strategies, and business approaches. For each business area, the process must be applied completely. No group, department, product line, or process should be excluded. Each element of your business is dependent on the others, and each must be agile and flexible, making use of the right resources.

As part of the process, we'll look at all aspects of your business:

* Leadership

* Customer base

* Products and services

* People

* Marketing

* Processes and Systems

* Finances

A chapter is devoted to each of these seven critical topics. Continually fine-tuning and innovating in all of these areas determines your ability to achieve and maintain the One-Percent Edge.

To achieve the edge, it's your job to ask those questions and apply the process in all seven areas of your business. That is the blueprint that will propel you from just another player in your business sector to the undisputed leader.

Here are the steps in the process:

1. Ask the tough questions.

2. Select and prioritize.

3. Create your action plan.

4. Execute.

5. Measure and review.

6. Repeat.

Business leaders often get lulled into a false sense of security. The One-Percent Edge process is counter to that way of thinking. When you're on top is precisely when you need to begin to position your business for change. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos says it takes five to seven years before the seeds his company plants — things such as expanding beyond media products, working with third-party sellers, and going international — grow enough to have a meaningful impact on the business. That's why the process is ongoing.

As you read about the steps in the process, you can begin to imagine how you could apply them to each of the seven aspects of your business.

Step 1: Ask the Tough Questions

An important aspect of the process is asking the right questions and listening openly to the answers. Business leaders often get stuck in a psychological trap by concentrating on what made them successful, but they fail to recognize that the market is changing. The new buzzword for that is Uberization — referring to the disruptive nature of the transportation app that has forever changed the taxi industry.

You have to ask the really tough questions, the ones you don't know the answers to but need to be asked. You don't know what you don't know, and it's what you don't know that may be the death of your company.

To get started, you must remove yourself from your business's day-to-day operations. When you are caught up in the fray or the daily stresses, it's impossible to lift your head high enough to gain a clear vision about what is happening with your company, your market, and your industry.

We are all taught to be linear thinkers who make decisions according to historical data and experience. In school, we memorize material, take a test, and move on. There is little leeway for creativity based on traditional teaching methods. So it's no wonder that as business leaders and decision makers we resort to the methodology with which we grew up. As Stanford University professor and prominent science educator Paul Hurd said, "Too many facts, too little conceptualizing, too much memorizing, and too little thinking."

Linear thinking doesn't foster a framework for innovation. Creative people may not have answers, but they habitually question the status quo and think about alternatives and improvements. They discover and invent possible answers. They habitually ask better questions.

To build innovation into your company's DNA you need to let go of the old way of thinking and decision making. You must be willing to reframe the questions in order to find innovative solutions. Eight-five percent of C-suite executives say their companies struggle with diagnosing problems. The status quo isn't a choice. The momentum of your business success may carry you through for a period of time, but it won't sustain you. If you sit for too long, your business may begin to die.

Question every aspect of your business. Success is a fickle creature. Don't be lured into complacency. When you're at the top of your game is when you need to work even harder to make sure you remain in that position. So leave your ego at the door.

I always tell people who are in conflict that there are three sides to every story: theirs, the other person's, and the truth. For every situation there is always another perspective, which is why you need to develop the ability to look at things in different ways.

A structured diagnostic analysis will actually impede creative thinking. You need to reframe the questions, but it takes time and practice to develop this skill. Ask questions with a near childlike curiosity. It may feel uncomfortable and even out of control at times. Eventually issues and opportunities will emerge so you can address them in a timely fashion. Too often managers and leaders turn a blind eye to the reality of a situation by rationalizing results or failing to drill down into operational data. One of my mother's favorite sayings was, "Figures lie and liars figure." Data can be used to explain away business declines. An economic downturn, inclement weather, or higher interest rates all can be considered...