How to Create a Successful Company

Do you recognize the company named Yum! Brands, Inc? Probably not. Recognize the names Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell? Absolutely! In 1997, PepsiCo spun these three restaurants into a new company called Yum! Brands.  David Novak, the Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands (and author of  Taking People With You), was faced with a choice: rely on the brand laurels or create a new brand? He chose the latter, surveyed companies at the top of their game and grew Yum! Brands into a powerful force in the restaurant industry.  In this article, he explains five sustainable best practices he and his team learned as they evaluated other public companies at the top of their game.

1. A Company Where Everyone Makes a Difference – Place emphasis on the value of your employees
2. Customer and Sales Mania – Know who you serve and know them well
3. Competitive Brand Differentiation – Understand your unique value proposition
4. Continuity in People and Process – Focus on developing an excellent training program and establish a mentorship program within the company
5. Consistency in Results – Routinely test levels of satisfaction, both among your employees and customers

So how do you get instill these five practices into a growing company? Novak suggests four tactics:

1. Eliminate “not invented here” – Is your organization culture so focused on itself that it misses out on great ideas being implemented elsewhere? Look around and see what other successful companies are doing. How can you learn from them?
2. Act like you own the place – Get a bird’s eye view of your organization and understand each department’s role. (If you work for a smaller organization, get to know what each person is focused on). By doing this, you will likely learn something about your own role’s value to the organization.
3. Keep your big goal top-of-mind – Strategize. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? What is the organization as a whole trying to accomplish? How does that align with each department and individual?
4. Seek out knowledge holders and sources – There are experts and mentors all around you, probably many within your organization. So reach out to them. It never hurts to send an email and tell your prospective mentor what you are interested in learning. They’ll likely reach out and offer to help you.

The message behind Novak’s excerpt is an idea that I completely agree with. Always be ready to learn from others. You are not the originator of every great idea. Create an open environment that encourages thoughtful dialogue. When you do these things, chances are that your colleagues will begin to develop their own genius ideas without fear of inhibition. (See my past blog, Creating a Culture of Trust in the Workplace, to understand the positive effect trust can have on open dialogue within your organization).