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Smart businesspeople, and especially great leaders, are clear on what it takes to be successful. With that in mind, I have a few questions for you:
What does it take to excel in your business?
What has contributed to your success so far?
What is it that you do best?
What will you focus on this year?
What should you focus on to become the most successful business in your industry?
But before you answer, let me offer some insights that might shift your perspective. I'm a big believer in the power of business statistics—numbers can reveal a lot about developing and implementing strategy. Here are some stats I think you should consider:
46% of employees leave their job because they don’t feel appreciated.
75% of employees list their immediate boss as the most stressful part of their job.
78% of customers have abandoned a transaction due to poor service.
67% of customers have hung up the phone out of frustration because they couldn’t talk to a real person.
70% of buying experiences are based on how customers feel they are being treated.
91% of unhappy customers won’t willingly do business with you again.
8% of customers believe a company provides superior service compared to competitors.
90% of customers would pay more to ensure a superior experience.
90% of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done. — Peter Drucker
Happy, positive employees are 31% more productive and 56% better at sales.
One more thought: A CEO of a large multinational company once asked me for one word that could help make his company better. What would your answer be? Mine was Simplify.
Now, after reflecting on all these numbers, I want to ask you: If you could fix one thing about your company (or yourself) today, what would it be? Where are you weakest, dropping the ball, or frustrating customers?
Remember, smart people don’t have any confusion about what they need to do to be successful. What should you be focusing on?