Success in Business

The purpose of any business is to provide a product or service for its customers, make a profit for its owners or shareholders, and maintain itself as a "going concern." In today's highly competitive marketplace, where many companies are vying to provide similar products and services, often the only distinction between enterprises is the level and quality of service provided.

Realizing this, it would not be an overstatement to say that the nature of business is SERVICE. As a supervisor all your efforts and those of your employees are directed toward providing the highest possible level of service to customers. To do this you must anticipate their needs and desires, set standards of excellence that challenge employees, train continually, and constantly examine and improve the details of your operation.

The success of your efforts and the excellence of your operation are ultimately measured ONLY by customer satisfaction. And it is only through the dedicated efforts of your willing workers that you can consistently achieve customer satisfaction.
Success in business is simple in concept, but difficult in execution. In simplest terms, successful businesses give their customers what they want; at a price they think is fair, with the expected level of service. The formula for success can be expressed as:

Right Product + Right Price + Right Service

Given that, in most companies, senior managers determine product and pricing, the supervisor's arena of influence is service and service delivery. While this is only one-third of the overall equation for success, it is the most difficult component, and the challenge comes ultimately from one source - PEOPLE.

People are complex, carry lots of personal baggage, are often poor communicators, and are sometimes defensive, quick to lash out and place blame. Often they have agendas hidden even to themselves; they suffer various insecurities and lack clear aims. These people are your customers, your employees, and the owners or shareholders of your company.

The Leader's Role
As a supervisor your role is to keep all of these people relatively happy and satisfied and, in the case of employees, to keep them focused on the task at hand. The difficulty is that the needs and desires of these constituencies are often in direct competition. Employees want realistic wages and satisfying work. Customers want value and service. Shareholders want to be associated with a high quality enterprise and to maximize the return on their investment. The job of the supervisor is to balance these competing needs. If one gets out of balance, the other two suffer.



For example, employees are unhappy with poor working conditions and request a new break area. Shareholders don't want to bear the expense. Poor employee morale affects the customers who sense hostility and a less-than-helpful attitude. Customers pick up on the bad vibes and take their business elsewhere. The decrease in sales reduces profit and ultimately the shareholders' return on investment. Everyone is unhappy and blames the leader.

Not only must you be an outstanding leader, capable of maintaining a positive attitude in the face of daily challenges, but you must also remain focused on goals, lead by inspiration and example, and hold employees accountable for results. Further, you must be able to maintain this effort and pace over the long haul. Clearly, this requires men and women of uncommon talent, dedication, drive, and temperament.

Leadership

What is Leadership?
Many books have been written to define what constitutes leadership, the role of the leader, the essential traits of leadership, and the habits of successful leaders. Without adding anything new to this body of work, I simply list the following abbreviated definitions from The Random House College Dictionary:

To lead: go before or with to show the way; guide in direction, course, action, opinion; influence; command or direct an organization; go at the head of or in advance of.

Leader: a person who leads, a guiding or directing head of an organization.

Leadership: the position or function of a leader; the ability to lead; an act or instance of leading.

Given that each of these definitions ultimately involves guiding, influencing, and directing people, I posit the following working definition for this handbook:

Leadership is the sum of those individual traits, skills, and abilities that allow one person to commit and direct the efforts of others toward the accomplishment of a particular objective.

Central to this definition is the understanding that exercising leadership involves building and sustaining relationships between leader and followers. Without this bond or connection, there are no willing followers and, therefore, no true leader. Given that no leader operates in a vacuum, it also requires the leader to establish relationships with other relevant constituencies.

A Few Observations on Leadership
Because the quality of leadership is always examined in hindsight when success has been won, we look to the leader with reverence and awe. Often his or her life and accomplishments take on mythical proportions. Thus leadership has become an almost sacred word, wrapped in an aura of mysterious gift and ability. In this light, leadership is always good since it is always applied to the successful. A failed leader is no leader at all. But this is always the historical judgment. For those attempting to lead at this moment, the jury is still out.

Just as a highly competitive basketball game cannot be won without the talent, commitment and effort of all players, so a leader facing a challenge or working toward a particular goal needs the willing commitment of all employees. Without this commitment, the leader is handicapped from the outset and will find success neither complete nor easy to come by.

As there are many types of leaders – political, intellectual, military, industrial, business, financial, athletic, and so on for any conceivable endeavor and profession - the skills and abilities that might make a person successful in one arena do not necessarily guarantee success in another.

Many people hold positions of authority by virtue of ownership, heredity, education, oratorical skill, appointment, election, circumstances, or even bluff, but the exercise of authority doesn't necessarily make them leaders. The position of President, CEO, General, Doctor, or Professor may command respect, deference, even fear, but they do not necessarily have the willing commitment and loyalty of their followers unless this has been earned by the exercise of leadership.

There are various styles of leadership – the most common ones being autocratic, collegial, nurturing, and moral/ethical. There are successful models of each style. General George Patton was an autocratic leader; Mahatma Gandhi was a moral/ethical leader. Some leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill used a mix of styles.

Note:
Ed Rehkopf is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and received a Masters of Professional Study degree in Hospitality Management from Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. During his long and varied career, he has managed two historic, university-owned hotels, worked at a four-star desert resort, served as Director of Operations for a regional luxury-budget hotel chain, and opened two golf and country clubs.

Leadership on the Line is his first published book. He is currently working on a book about benchmarking in the hospitality industry.