<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In his outstanding book, Great by Choice, Jim Collins relates the story of Howard Putnam, a former CEO of Southwest Airlines. Putnam institutionalized the Southwest Airlines\u2019 \u201crecipe\u201d for success. His \u201crecipe\u201d was not a strategic plan or a vision or a mission statement, but a carefully thought-out list of operating principles. That list included:<\/p>\n
There was more on Putnam\u2019s list, but you get the idea. Collins refers to this kind of recipe as a SMaC which stands for a Specific, Methodical, and Consistent set of operating principles. Others might refer to these as simply \u201ccritical success factors.\u201d Either way, these are the essential things we do that have made us successful and will continue to make us successful as long as we continue to follow them. These are not just the \u201coperating rules of the day.\u201d These are long-term rules for how we run our business that may stay in place for many years, even decades. Sure, markets change, and over time, some of our operating principles may have to change too. But think of it a little like the U.S. Constitution. Yeah, we can amend it, but it\u2019s served us very well for a long time so let\u2019s not change it on a whim. Let\u2019s change it only when there\u2019s a clear and compelling reason to do so.<\/p>\n
To consider what should be in your \u201crecipe,\u201d you need to clearly understand what you do (or how you do it) that your customers value, directly or indirectly. For instance, Southwest passengers probably don\u2019t care that the airline has standardized on the 737. But by doing that, Southwest only has to train pilots on flying one airplane, only has to train mechanics on maintaining one airplane, and only has to inventory parts for one airplane. That all saves money and helps the airline to keep fares low. And Southwest passengers do care about low fares.<\/p>\n
A well-crafted recipe can be a great template to help your decision-making process. Will the solution you\u2019re considering to a tough problem conflict with your \u201crecipe?\u201d If you take advantage of an opportunity that presents itself, will the result violate any of your operating principles?<\/p>\n
Obviously, a \u201crecipe\u201d like this only works if it is communicated effectively and frequently to everyone in your organization . . . they need to internalize it. They need to be able to recite it asleep and blindfolded. And they can\u2019t just hear the words, they also need to hear the music. They need to understand how these rules support the way we do business and why it\u2019s important to follow them consistently. They need to understand why flying 737s helps us deliver on our promise of low fares.<\/p>\n
So put on your Betty Crocker hat and draft your \u201crecipe.\u201d If done well, it has the potential to give you and your entire organization a singularity of purpose and vision that will be transformational.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In his outstanding book, Great by Choice, Jim Collins relates the story of Howard Putnam, a former CEO of Southwest Airlines. Putnam institutionalized the Southwest Airlines\u2019 \u201crecipe\u201d for success. His \u201crecipe\u201d was not a strategic plan or a vision or a mission statement, but a carefully thought-out list of operating principles. That list included: Utilize<\/p>\n