Are you a powerhouse and an all black?

According to Brian MacNeice and James Bowen in the book “Powerhouse”, Powerhouse organisations commit to sustained excellence. They instil a dedication to excellence in their employees and earn wealth by delivering superb work. Examples of such powerhouse organisations include Grameen Bank, the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, the US Marine Corps, Southwest Airlines, the Mayo Clinic and the Toyota Motor Corporation.

These excellent organisations and others like them share 12 powerhouse principles or traits:

1. “Ambition” – The leaders have a clear vision of what they hope to achieve. They know how to win, and their people work hard to implement that knowledge.

2. “Purpose” – In their minds and hearts, the company’s people know why they want to win and why winning is important.

3. “Measures” – Leaders follow metrics that monitor and gauge the performance of their employees and teams.

4. “Standards” – The organisation uses benchmarks as tangible indicators of the achievements of its members and teams.

5. “Gap” – High-performance organisations maintain minimal distances – gaps – between those who perform best and those who don’t perform as well.

6. “Decisions” – Decision makers stay as close to the action as possible.

7. “Code” – Members of top organisations meet elevated “behavioral standards.”

8. “Engagement” – Leaders, staff members and stakeholders feel a sense of connection.

9. “Resilience” – These tough companies take pride in bouncing back from setbacks. They don’t shrink from difficulties, and they work hard to overcome obstacles.

10.“Feedback” – These firms value experience – good and bad – and learn from both failures and successes.

11. “Teamwork” – High performance is a collective achievement.

12.“Improvement” – These companies work to achieve more tomorrow than they’ve already achieved.

The interesting part is that five of the 12 principles require numbers, metrics, measurement. That is why finance is key to any company. However, you need a finance team that knows what to look for, what to measure and of course the technology to enable your company to become a powerhouse, and if you are unsure if that is possible then reach out. In one call we can point you in the right direction and to follow in the steps of the All Blacks!