In previous articles we said that your business’s Philosophy determines the Promises your People make to your marketplace. Those articles explored the “Why” and the “What.” Knowing “How” is where the rubber meets the road. ”How” you and your People do their jobs is the difference between having a business that is good, great or magnificent. Most business leaders want their business to be magnificent.
Most employees want to do “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.” Motivated employees want to do more, to give more, and to get more. It goes back to the floor sweepers in the Kennedy Space Center in Part V – one of them swept floors; the other one was part of a space mission. One of them had a “clean floor is good enough” attitude; the other had an “only the best will guarantee a successful mission” attitude. One had limited understanding, the other understood very clearly. The best businesses employ People who understand very clearly, and that is based on one word: Trust.
The Money Factor
In logistics, to put it very simply, customers exchange money for service. Money buys them warehouse space, delivery schedules, accurate loading routines, efficient and safe driving patterns, and on-time deliveries. Every customer exchanges the same kind of dollar bills for the same kind of service. When all the People understand the critical difference between good, great and exceptional when it comes to logistics, they have the fuel they need.
Those dollar bills – the money customers hand over – have two roles, they are:
- A medium of exchange: customers exchange money for warehouse space or on-time delivery, etc.
And
- A measure of value: “absolute certainty” that their goods will be delivered safely and on-time to the right destination is worth more money to customers than “maybe they will” or “probably they will.”
The more value customers get, the more money they will exchange. The more money that comes into a logistics business the more profit it makes for its owners, the more benefits it can afford for its People to recruit and keep them, and the more market share it will earn. Increased market share brings in more money – and the cycle continues.
The Trust Factor
When your People understand that – that they are marketing, selling, or delivering Trust, you have a Win-Win-Win business. The Company wins, the People win, and the Customers win. Keep that trust going by getting the practicalities right, and the business becomes magnificent. The best business advice boils down to one word: Trust. Now let's discuss how to build it, and deliver it.
