Darren Hardy, publisher of “Success Magazine,” covers stories of business accomplishment from the most successful women and men throughout the world. In a recent interview, he described three keys to success.
- Master the Fundamentals
- Continually Improve
- Be Consistent and Persistent
If you follow my blog, you know I believe that effective business systems and processes are the foundation for all success. So, let’s look at these three principles from a System Thinker’s point of view.
1. Master the Fundamentals
The way to master the fundamentals of your business is by incorporating laws, principles, and best practices into your operational systems and processes—putting proven strategies into action. Systems—marketing, hiring, customer care, order fulfillment, accounting, and so forth—are the fundamental building blocks of your organization Like sports, success in business is determined by how well you perform the fundamentals, how effectively your business systems and processes deliver desired results.
2. Continually Improve
Daily improvement is not a random activity but the systematic way in which you elevate your business processes to get better results. Focus attention on your vital systems and processes. Measure performance. Make adjustments. Measure again. Make it a game and keep score! A little improvement every day will have an amazing “compound effect” (Darren Hardy).
3. Be Consistent and Persistent
In the fable of the tortoise and the hare, the slower moving tortoise won the race because he moved at a constant and steady pace. It’s not how you start, but how you last that matters most. Well-designed business systems and processes create standardization and consistency for customers and employees. They are the gears that constantly turn—steady, routine, and not always exciting—but which drive your business success.
The application of fundamental principles, with an eye on persistent improvement, is a formula for exceptional achievement in any endeavor. It sounds easy enough, but you need a systematic way to make it happen. That’s why I created Box Theory™ Software. It embodies these three winning principles.
Systems are the solution. There is no other way!
