5 Counterintuitive Strategies to Improve Your Business

T

he value of your business is not determined by your trailing 12-month EBITA, net profit, or your trade secrets. And your company’s success does not depend on the work you actually do. 

All of this sounds counterintuitive, but has proven successful for us, our employees, and our customers. Here are five keys to what matters most. 

1. You’re not in business to make a profit

Profits are simply a byproduct of how well you’re doing. The reason we’re in business is to create a continuous cycle of “win-win economics” for all our team members, customers, suppliers, and shareholders. All must benefit from the activity the business produces. 

2. Value isn’t about profitability alone

The big secret about trade secrets is that there are no trade secrets! The key to building value is execution. We work on our business everyday. It’s messy, and it takes grit, tenacity, and dedication.

It also requires a strong focus on our people and our customers because they drive the value creation in our business. We can have all the leads in the world and all the best installers, but if we don’t empower our people, we don’t have much of a business. 

3. Strategy isn’t a top priority

Our top priority is culture. Honestly, the strategy for home improvement is simple: you market in order to get leads and then convert them into sales. Done. 

What’s challenging is creating a company culture where employees can successfully deal with pressure, respond creatively and positively to challenges, and treat one another with respect.

4. Don’t worry about the people trying to screw you

We focus our energy on hard-working, passionate people because we know that beating the competition means having great people working for us. We focus on helping them succeed and making them feel appreciated. Appreciation is so undervalued — and it costs nothing and can be profoundly effective.

5. Success doesn’t depend upon the work we do

We aim to be humble and acknowledge that it’s all about our people and the need to create alignment. Our success depends on getting people working toward a common set of objectives, goals, and aspirations, and giving them the tools to execute the mission.