·         Measure your octane. Do an honest assessment of your own grade, and then put into place a plan to move up a grade. If you are already a Premium, develop a plan to become supercharged.

By Mac M. Martirossian, CPA

Pacing the aisles on a Boeing 757 on a half day journey to the West Coast, I can’t help but notice the number of Kindle’s in use by my fellow passengers.  Electronics replacing print.  Who would have the courage to make masses of people take the leap and go against traditional forms of reading?  Would you?

In complete awe, it is another reminder of how behavioral transformation takes vision, courage and unconditional execution.  Wi-Fi on-board, has replaced gazing out the window; gourmet coffee has pushed aside free airline coffee; and if you want to purchase food or an adult beverage, you better have plastic on you.

Returning to my seat, I am painfully playing the “why didn’t I think of that” tape in my head, reinforcing a great lesson that innovators earn their billions by finding a path to changing our behavior and habits.

Many of us participate in change, almost without awareness, but few have the gift of a game changing innovation.  And why is that?  Distractions with non-value add activities would be one of a countless number of reasons, why there are only a few like Mark Zuckerberg roaming this earth.

So, what is a common person to do?  Here are some points to consider:

 Regardless of your station in a for-profit or non-profit enterprise, it is critically important to have a clear understanding of your entity’s stage of life.  Like us, companies have a distinct lifecycle, impacted by the leadership of the organization.  Similar to the bell shaped curve below, companies start with an idea and then grow through the different stages of development, much like we do.  However, unlike humans, companies can stay in their Prime for a long, long time—possibly forever.  Unfortunately, those are rare instances, as most companies fall prey to business practices, like Bureaucracy, which bring them to their death.  Much like we enjoy being around youthful young adults who are energetic and full of aspirations, few leaders are able to guide the development of a company in that stage to have it turn into a Stable enterprise.

An excellent example of such a company is Wal*Mart.  Despite its age (65 years old) and size ($408 billion in revenue and 2.1 million employees), it continues to grow year after year.   The way management has guided this company through its early development stages without turning it into a bureaucratic dying enterprise is a brilliant study in corporate leadership.

One of the reasons why Wal*Mart has succeeded is because everyone in leadership positions has understood their role through the various lifecycles.  Here are some points to consider:

By Mac M. Martirossian, CPA

In nearly every type of business, there is a compelling need to be functional a high percentage of the time.  Up and running at full capacity.  Have you ever thought about the number of times you are disappointed when another party fails to deliver on full capacity?

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  Your favorite show is about to air and the cable operator has an outage with no estimated of when it will be restored.

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  The backlog of orders has not been this high for month and the machinery in the plan is down for a day with no estimate of when the repair part will arrive.

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  There is only one Automated Teller Machine in the airport terminal you are in and has an “out of order” sign on it, frayed at the edges from the extended sunlight exposure.

By Mac M. Martirossian, CPA

In my corporate experience, what separated the true leaders of companies I observed and worked with, where those individuals who left the comfort of their office and entered the front lines.  And the more they were on the front lines, the more they were connected with the heart of the business.

The practice of getting in touch with the core of a business is especially important when the economy is in a downturn and customers are on the run.  Is it any surprise that CBS introduced Boss Undercover, during the recession, to highlight the importance of CEOs leaving the back office to join the rank and file in the front office?

By Mac M. Martirossian, CPA

In May 2006, a Wall Street Journal article declared that large Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”) manufacturers were trying to sell a new generation of machines that would enable customers to deposit cash or checks without an envelope.  Now, that may not be a big deal for some, but for many smaller businesses, which have a respectable quantity of checks and cash have to painstakingly prepare deposit slips, stamp the back of checks and stand in line, to make a deposit with a live teller, it was big news.  I was elated when I read this article, while at the same time thinking “not in my lifetime”.

When Wachovia Bank rolled out the Wincor Nixdorf ATMs at my branch, I was celebrating by dancing (literally) when I made my first paperless deposit.  It was night time and I was holding my receipt with a clear image of each check deposited and I thought to myself—

By Mac M. Martirossian, CPA

At the risk of committing heresy, especially with my own core values, the reality is that the customer is not always right.  I am a firm believer of the business pyramid for world class organizations, which puts the customer at the top, the associates on the bottom left and the company on the bottom right.  World class companies do not rotate the pyramid, to move the interests of customers or the company to the top.  But sometimes this hierarchy gets abused.

For example, a discount retailer mandates that attendants at their self service gas station leave their booths whenever a customer is pumping gas.  On a recent visit at 6:00 am, with the temperature at 18 degrees, the attendant followed the company rule to the letter.  No words exchanged; no value added by this “out of the booth” experience.  Just pain and suffering for the associate.