We can’t be all things to all people, yet leaders of organizations often try to make their companies or products just that.

Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema wrote a book called The Discipline of Market Leaders and in it they talk about three categories of business, and how every successful business falls into one of these categories.

The problem that many leaders face when they read or hear about this book is that they want their business to be all three. It’s just not possible; they’re mutually exclusive in regards to excellence. A business should be good or passable at the others, but they can only excel at one. More on that later.

It doesn’t matter what kind of organization you are in, healthcare, technology, food service, these three categories, or disciplines as they’re called in the book, are applicable across all sectors.

The Three Disciplines of Market Leaders are:

Product Leadership: You set the bar of product development and leadership. Apple is a great example of this, especially while Steve Jobs was alive – they consistently are on the leading edge of new products.

Operational Excellence: Your operations are smooth with great systems in place. McDonalds is a great example of this: you can get a better burger anywhere, but you can get the same burger everywhere.

Customer Service: Your focus is squarely on your customer and making sure that they are getting what they want when they want it. Chik-fil-A is a great example of this. Everything is designed around improving the customer experience.

If you’re like many of the leaders that we work with, your first inclination is to be all three. However, as I warned above, if you try you’re going to do all three poorly.

Why?

If you are top of the line in product leadership then you are developing new, innovative products or services that haven’t been seen anywhere else. That means that you have to try and fail, and spend time innovating and looking at the marketplace for gaps. That is not conducive to operational excellence.

Likewise if you are focused on operational excellence there is no way that you can have top of the line customer service and give them everything they want and need. Your operational excellence cannot stop for the customers’ wants, it must keep running.

Now, there are baselines that need to be met, bare minimums that you must have. If you run a local coffee shop (usually a great example of customer service – they remember your name and know your order by heart) but your operations are terrible no one will come. They don’t want to wait 15-20 minutes for a cup of coffee.

What does this mean for you?

If you don’t already know or aren’t quite sure where you sit, decide which of the three best reflects your business and then focus your organization on that category with everything you can.

INCITE Consulting Solutions has been working with organizations just like yours since 2016, and we have helped uncertain executives hone in on what their organizations and teams should focus on. Without this anchor, your organization will continue to stumble without clarity or cohesion. You deserve to have a thriving business that sets itself apart in the marketplace; we can help get you there.

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