How will you grow, fight off imitators and keep your competitive edge? In a phrase: Passion Driven Purpose. Huh? It’s about linking your company – your values – your mission statement – to a purpose. If the sole focus of your company is to profiteer, then your goals will be aligned for the short-term “get-rich” schemes and it won’t deliver long-term value.
If your company’s goals are directly aligned with a higher purpose – in our case, helping people unlock their body’s potential (and our number one core value is WE CARE about the health of our customers), then some powerful forces with start to align with you.
* First, you’ll take a long-term and creative approach to bringing true value and success to your customers. The more you help your customers succeed, the more they will help you succeed. If it’s all about “taking” from your customers, then they have no incentive to “give” to you.
* Secondly, the true super-stars of talent out there work for much more than a paycheck – money itself isn’t enough. There’s a much more important value element that a profiteer company can’t deliver, that’s providing people with the value of delivering on a higher purpose – of giving back to society, to communities around us, and the environment.
When you start with goals that have a purpose, and build a team of like-minded teammates, then no competitor becomes a long term threat. And if a competitor chooses to truly bring purpose into their mission – then it raises the bar on all of us. And one final note – when a company knows its purpose, it Fires UP the passion in all the people it attracts, and when this occurs, work is no longer work and creates an unstoppable work ethic and crucible for creativity!
If you’re thinking of taking the leap to chart your own entrepreneurial path whether inside an existing company or out on your own, trust me when I tell you, you’ll never regret the journey – it won’t be easy, but in the words of a military recruiter: “It’ll be the hardest thing you’ll ever love.”
CHARLIE MIKE - ALDEN
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Potential Entrepreneurs Pt 2
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3 comments:
Mr Mills:
I just wanted to take a second to personally thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. Your expertise and knowledge is much appreciated, and will go a long way in the writing of my paper, but also my overall knowledge of this topic. I will absolutely use this as a guide in my ongoing entrepreneurial journey. Thanks again.
Mike Lamothe
Very nice article Alden! Timing's perfect!
Carolyn, thank you! I'm posting your comments so all the Teammates can read them!
CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN
Alden,
You are such an inspiration, not only through your success, (because that speaks for itself) but, through your words. Your passion for what you do is so evident throughout your blog and your company. In today's society, we too often see companies who are money-driven only. They do not have a significant purpose or a worthwhile cause to better society. For this reason it is so refreshing to hear from someone with your attitude and beliefs.
I especially loved your quote, "It'll be the hardest thing you'll ever love."
Your innovation has been so successful and I wish you the best of luck with all your future endeavors. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my inquiries!
-Carolyn
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