Winning In Business: Using The Values/Numbers Matrix
It’s not surprising that many business leaders love to win. It’s often listed as a core value.
Consider how this value is expressed at these Fortune 500 companies:
- American Express: A Will to Win
- Amgen: Compete Intensely and Win
- Kraft Foods: Win Together
- Tech Data: Passion for Winning
- Whirlpool: Spirit of Winning
As a differentiating value, Winning means victorious; succeeding through effort; reaching a desired goal.
This is a value embraced by those that like to achieve their goals, and be rewarded accordingly. However, winning is not just about the outcome. It also includes a healthy process with good people.
One company that appears to understand this concept is Ally Financial, as shown by the way they describe their core value of Deliver Results:
We are passionate about winning – for our customers, our teams and our company. Success is measured by both the outcome and the path to achieve it.
But to achieve the right kind of win requires the right kind of winning team.
Winning the Jack Welch Way
A few years ago I had the privilege of hearing Jack Welch speak. Based on his book Winning
My favorite piece of insight that Jack shared was what I refer to as the Values/Numbers Matrix. Note: this matrix concept was only described verbally. The diagram highlighted below is my visualization of what Jack explained.
In building a winning team, Jack described what he saw as a useful evaluation of business unit leaders.
To be part of a winning team, everyone’s actions and behaviors must support the organizations stated values. These values need to be explicitly explained with clear examples of what behavior is acceptable, and what is not.
It’s also crucial to be “hitting the numbers.” If revenue and profit targets consistently fall short, then the business unit will never grow. Worst case it will completely fail.
This is where the Values/Numbers Matrix can be a useful tool.
Values/Numbers Matrix
Using the Values/Numbers Matrix, there are only four possible options when evaluating the leader of a business unit.
- Invest in Training & Coaching. When you have a great team that lives the values, but is not hitting the numbers, they need help to win. This is the time to invest in coaching for the leader, and training for the team. This is when the right support is needed to help the team win.
- Reward Success. When a team’s actions match the values and they’re hitting the numbers, then they need to be compensated fairly and acknowledged publicly. Success rewarded will breed more success. It will also inspire others to win.
- Let them go. According to Jack, this is the most difficult group. They’re hitting their numbers, but their actions and behaviors are not aligned with the stated values. Just like bad drugs, these leaders are slowly killing you. You may be getting short-term gains along with long-term pain. The right action is to let the leader go. It’s best for the future of the organization and it sends a signal to other leaders that the values are to be treated seriously.
- Fire them – fast. When a leader’s actions and behaviors are in opposition to the stated values and they’re missing the numbers, you can’t fire them fast enough. It also sends a signal to others that you mean business.
Organizations that want to win have a winning team. The leader of that team in particular is either working to win or working his or her way off the team.
How would you rank yourself and/or your team leader on the Values/Numbers Matrix?
Today’s value was selected from the “Freedom-Prosperity” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Value.
Click the image below if you are interested in purchasing the book Winning
