| Tricks of the Trade© |
Morning edition Friday August 25, 2000 |
Principles are Not a Luxury
Subject: Business Philosophy
Physical health requires adherence to specific principles. So does a healthy business.
If someone proposed that eating a healthy diet six days of the week, but indulging in eating poison on Sunday would have no affect on one’s health, most people would immediately dismiss that contention. They know that poison, even in small doses, is antithetical to physical health.
Yet, many people take a much different approach to the ideas which guide their business. They recognize that physical health requires meeting specific standards. They often fail to recognize that a healthy business requires meeting similar standards.
Physical health requires a consistent, long-term policy. One cannot achieve or maintain health without following certain principles. Those principles are established by the nature of the human body.
Similarly with business. Business success demands that specific principles be followed, principles established by the nature of a business’s activities. Just as physical health precludes the consumption of poison, business health precludes similar forms of destructive activity.
The subject of principles might seem like an imposing, ivory-tower subject which has little to do with owning and operating a painting company. But this is hardly the case. Everyone, and every business, operates on the basis of certain principles. Every action undertaken is ultimately based on some principle.
In the context of a business, principles provide a set of rules which guide the business and its actions in the market. (The market too is governed by certain principles, which are equally important to understand.)
The principles which guide a company determine the products and services it offers, its marketing strategy and pricing policies, its attitudes towards customers and employees. In short, these principles determine the very nature of that company.
While business success is never guaranteed, certain principles will guarantee failure. Cheating customers, employees, and vendors might "work" in the short-term. The "con-man" who achieves wealth by cheating innocent victims might seem successful, but his actions will ultimately catch up with him, in the form of disrepute or perhaps criminal penalties.
The question is: Do you want these principles to be explicit, consistently integrated ideas which contribute to your success, or are you willing to accept implicit, inconsistent ideas which undermine your success?
EgoCorps Inc. 5933 Bellaire Blvd, Suite 118 Houston, TX 77081 ph. 713-666-6968 fax 713-666-8993 If you have any home improvement questions, questions about our company or our work, please contact Brian Phillips at brian@egocorps.com
All articles appearing on this site are copyrighted by the Painters Chat Room. Permission to reproduce any portion of this site including submitted articles must be obtained by e-mailing us at administration@painterschatroom.com. (c) 2000