Predictable Success

Business is tough: for many companies, success – or failure – is often a matter of sheer luck. No matter how good your idea may be, it’s impossible to predict how it’ll fare upon execution.

Want to change that? Wouldn’t it be nice to achieve predictable success, when you consistently meet the goals you set for yourself? That might sound impossible, like a privilege solely reserved for companies that have been around for decades. But the truth is, neither age nor size nor finances determine a company’s predictable success.

Consider Little & Co. The credit-card payment processing company hit the top of the Inc. 500 just five years after it was founded, putting it in the same league as the 120-year-old SC Johnson.

Finances don’t determine predictable success either. Microsoft might have billions of dollars in reserve, but it doesn’t consistently meet its goals; meanwhile, the small, self-funded graphic design firm the author works with has never fallen short of its annual targets.

So, if age and cash don’t lead to predictable success, what does? The answer is management. Managers with strong visions and unrelenting commitment to a set path will help their companies achieve predictable success. These leaders stay calm even when external or internal problems arise, working to assess the problem and determine the optimal response.

Flowing water is a great metaphor for the management style you need. When a stone falls into running water, the water is utterly indifferent to the motives of the stone. It simply responds accordingly, with minimal drama; when the stone is pushed downstream, the water quickly returns to its calm, still state.

In the following blinks, we’ll show you how companies learn to embody running water and achieve predictable success.