The Three Ss of Winning in Business
Why you need self-confidence, simplicity and speed in business
Many businesses, as they grow, develop a bureaucracy. This makes it hard for the business to adapt to the accelerating changes we are experiencing. As Professor Gary Hamel said:
“Today, the most important question for any organisation is this: are we changing as fast as the world around us?”
In the current environment if we do not grow then we do not stagnate, we atrophy. Jack Welch, while he was the Chairman and CEO of General Electric (1981-2001), developed the Three S’s. According to Welch, the Three S’s are interrelated and mutually supportive and, as such, are a prescription for winning in business.
The Three S’s are:
- Self-Confidence. Always believe in yourself. Embrace change before you have to. Take consistent action. You develop self-confidence by gaining experience and winning multiple times.
- Simplicity.Reduce things to their simplest level; not simplistic, but simplified. When communication is clear, it travels faster. Use clear communication to empower others. You cannot have simplicity without self-confidence.
- Speed.When communication is clear, direct language causes action and decisions to happen faster. Speed is a competitive advantage. You cannot have speed without simplicity.
Bureaucracy fosters formality, which slows business down and creates complexity. This makes it harder for your business to change as fast as the world around you. Here you risk becoming irrelevant in business and out-performed by your competitors. So focus on the three Ss and build your self-confidence, develop simplicity and increase your speed.
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