We live in a competitive world. Whether you’re concerned with besting a professional competitor or just having the greenest lawn on the block, I’d suggest most of us are seeking to be the best at what we do. Competition is a wonderful thing — it drives prices down, supplies up, and forces efficiency in business practices. Plus, the quest to stay on top of our game pushes us to innovate. However, I have seen innovation become confused with variation: taking on new products, services, or internal practices just for the sake of it. In my experience, success in business comes when we focus on our core products and services and do not let our attention drift from that core. Maniacal focus on the core competencies will likely lead to the highest degree of success for you and your organization.
Early on in my time at Tractor Supply, the company housed its own over-the-road trucking operation, organizing weekly deliveries from distribution centers to retail stores. But at its core, Tractor Supply was a retail business. We had tractors, trailers, and drivers – but what did we know about that business? Not much, and the time and energy required to become experts would inevitably pull from hours we could devote to fine-tuning our core business. We decided to lean into the strengths of another industry, transitioning to a contracted arrangement with transportation professionals. Within a handful of months, we saw a 15% reduction in costs and an improvement in service. At the same time, our Tractor Supply leadership team was able to keep our eye on the ball – running exceptional retail stores to the benefit of our customers.
In a recent conversation with an executive in the education business, we discussed school cleaning services. This leader debated whether cleaning and maintenance should be an in-house operation, or a contract service. I offered my two cents: if the function is not core to educating students, then it ought to be outsourced. In the education sector alone, a leader might ask this question about food service or bus operations. If you want your organization to see growth without deviating from its central mission, it is essential to keep core competencies at the front of your mind and leave the rest to more capable hands.
Here’s the good news: for any non-core function you can imagine, there are likely many capable hands from which to choose. If services do not meet the standards of your organization, explore other options. This is a relatively simple process when the service is contracted – and quite a bit more challenging if the service is performed in-house. Ultimately, the goal is to create a system that plays to the strengths of each organization involved. Within any organization, leaders should be able to spend the overwhelming majority of their time on the tasks that produce results for customers and/or their central mission.
As my friend Joe Calloway writes in his book Be The Best at What Matters Most: the Only Strategy You Will Ever Need, you can “simplify, focus, and win by outperforming all your competition on those things that create real value for the customer”. Want to make winning decisions for your organization? Limit distractions by keeping the team focused on what produces results. All organizations have a central goal. Lean into yours and allow your team’s energies to go where they are most productive.
published Nashville Business Journal
