2 Technologies That Will Make Your Company Exceptional

Since the beginning of the personal computing revolution, the application of software to improve efficiency and powerful execution in business has been fundamental to its success. Starting with VisiCalc and moving onto the complex task management, work automation, and real time, networked reporting tools of today, SaaS model businesses have been heavily focused on increasing the productivity of individuals, departments, and leadership in business.

With the decline of our manufacturing base in the U.S., jobs have progressively shifted towards the service industry with SaaS being a main player. In reality, much of the prosperity of the United States over the last two or three decades is the result of this increased ability to simply get things done provided by computing.

Zenger-Folkman et al recently did a study evaluating qualities of exceptional companies. They looked at two primary factors:

1.  Effective Execution: They attempted to look at the organizations ability to get things done effectively and quickly without waste, inefficiencies, or heavy bureaucratic impediments.
2.  Positive Work Environment: They looked at job satisfaction rates, group harmony, whether the employees felt they were adequately compensated, and so on. Essentially all the things that would make a work environment enjoyable and harmonious.

They discovered that businesses that are great at effectively executing work have a 9% chance of being an exceptional company, while companies that are great at creating a positive work environment have a 4% chance of being exceptional. We would naturally expect that combining the ability to execute effectively and the existence of a positive work environment would give us the greatest chance of being exceptional. So what did Zenger-Folkman et all discover about companies that have both qualities?

Organizations that have both the ability to effectively execute and have a positive work environment have an 88% chance of being exceptional.

The whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, given this data, that sounds like an understatement. I would submit that all organizational optimization fit into these two categories. 

As mentioned before, technology has primarily focused on creating effective execution, while the need for a positive work environment has largely been skipped over.  Don't get me wrong, a great deal of research, management training, and employee engagement software is deeply rooted in attempting to create a place where employees enjoy being. While there is plenty of information in the form of books, articles, seminars, webinars, consultancy and workshops, there are few, if any, actual tools that evaluate the core values, motivations, and particular Intelligence of the individual.

Just like in any effective execution improvement models, feedback is crucial to progress in creating a positive work environment and ultimately an exceptional company. This is where software comes into play. Simply gathering random feedback is not very helpful. A concise method for determining how and what information is gathered, what actions are taken to improve workplace environment based on ongoing feedback, and continual progress tracking would really be the meat and potatoes of such a system.

As an integral part of Positive Work Environment software, the understanding and documentation of the strengths, skills, and motivations of individuals within an organization would be a crucial part of how I imagine that type of system working to create an exceptional company.

In my next post I'll discuss the essential nature of understanding people, and how discovering and documenting your employees fundamental dispositions and temperament attributes can lead to great management; satisfied, creative, and productive employees; and organizational excellence.