Stand Out
Every business leader wants their company to stand out as compared to their competition. I would go so far as to say it is the business leader’s job to make their company stand out.
Southwest mastered standing out. They started by having a different business model than their competitors. If you have ever flown on Southwest, you know they do just about everything differently than their competitors. Everything about the flying experience on Southwest is different, all the way down to how the flight attendants ask passengers in the emergency row if they are ready, willing, and able to help them in a case of emergency. You may or may not like the differences but it is impossible not to notice them.
Dr. Seuss said it best when he said, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
It starts by standing out as an individual. I have two stories of how my sons have done just that. About 8 years ago, Joel, my eldest son, was working as an intern at a semi pro soccer team in Harrisburg. One day we were speaking about his job and he started complaining about his fellow interns and how lazy and incompetent they were. I said, “That's good news.” He responded, “how can that be good news?” I replied, “These are the people you will be competing with in the workplace and it will be easy for you to stand out.”
More recently, Simon, was working as an intern and the CEO, who was an old friend, acknowledged how terrific an employee Simon was, as did his direct supervisor. Simon didn’t understand, saying, I don’t work that many hours nor do I work that hard. I encourage him to ask his supervisor why she felt that way. I asked my friend the same question to which they both replied similarly. They had worked with people with 5-10 years of work experience who didn’t stand up to Simon, because of one simple thing. Simon said what he was going to do, by when, and then delivered on it. That’s it. It is simple to stand out: make commitments and keep your commitments. A simpler way to say it is to honor your word.
Now I know, it’s not always possible to honor your word and sometimes we just screw up and make mistakes. There is a way to honor your word even when you mess up.
One of my clients sold his company this year. His company is a high-end machine shop that manufactures complex instruments and implants in the medical device space. While other medical device manufacturers claim they do what my client's company does, the truth is they can’t. The reason for this is that my client's company manufactures with a level of precision and complexity that most of his competitors can’t and don’t. Overlay that on top of how he communicates with his clients, and this company stands out.
After the sale of the company, the CEO from the purchasing company wanted to pick my client’s brain about his business, how they operate and “Stand Out.” At one point the conversation turned to how they deal with missed delivery dates. My client's response was brief. He said the moment they know they’re going to miss promised deliveries they reach out to the client and tell them, simply, “we screwed up.” My client uses the F word, tells them why, apologizes, and then tells them what they are going to do about it and makes a new promise about when they will deliver.
There are several things at play here and they all enable this company to “Stand Out.” First, they are being accountable for their promises.
Breaking down the word accountable: account - a report or description of an event or experience, ability - possession of the means or skill to do something. Therefore, accountability means the possession of the means or skill to report an event or experience. They are reporting on their actions or inaction that led to a breakdown in their ability to deliver on their word. While no customer wants to hear this, all clients want to know if deadlines will be missed. There’s an old saying that goes “I can’t manage what I don’t know.” By telling their clients of the breakdown, they are giving their clients the ability to manage the breakdown on their end.
My client reported to his company’s new CEO, “you have no idea how much goodwill we create. They certainly aren’t happy when it happens, but they know the promises we make to them matter to us.”
That’s it. Standing out is simple but not easy. Make promises, keep your promises, and when you can’t keep your promises, be accountable to the person’s you made your promises too. What’s not simple is having the courage to be accountable and answerable for your actions or inactions. However, if you do, you will be richly rewarded.
I believe that no one in business likes surprises, especially the ones where I’m not getting what I expect. By being accountable for your missteps, you will undoubtedly Stand Out, and build goodwill and loyalty.