Green and growing

One of my fascinations in life is watching the rise and fall of once dominant businesses and the people within them. At the height of their powers they looked like were world beaters that held an impenetrable position that could not be challenged.

Then something changed, personnel left, the market changed and they didn’t adapt quickly enough or another competitor steadily ate away at their market share. Often it is a combination of all these elements. Like most things in life there are aspects that are within our control and many that are not but it is the ability to adapt to change that is possibly the most important. This ability to adapt to change is often about your attitude towards it.

It was put to me recently that you are either “green and growing or you are ripe and rotting”. It was in the context of the mindset we needed to continue to improve our business. Like most good quotes, those few words can facilitate great visual cues that we can tangibly adhere to and importantly align all our attitudes.

We are lucky enough to enjoy dominant market shares in several of our service areas but complacency would see this reverse very quickly. If we continually apply the “green and growing” mindset it is less likely for this to occur.

Businesses are really just a group of people operating in a particular manner under a common brand.

Aligning that group of people to form a common and progressive culture is a substantial challenge for any business. The more complex the vision, the less likely that the people working in that business will attach to it. That’s why I find simple quotes that can filter down to the individuals attitude to be the most useful. It has certainly had a significant impact in our business and I firmly believe that the best people to have on your team will be motivated as much through personal growth as they are by remuneration.