It is often easy to get excited about an idea. However, successful entrepreneurs differentiate themselves through their ability to put good ideas into action.
When Isadore Sharp, the legendary founder of the Four Seasons was asked: “How is it that Four Seasons can charge twice the room rate of Hilton, Sheraton or Westin?” He answered: “It is because we do common things uncommonly well.”How much value do you ascribe to an idea?”
John Ruffolo is the Chief Executive Officer of OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of OMERS, one of Canada’s leading pension funds. OMERS Ventures invest in early to late stage companies in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications space.
When I asked John that question, he responded: “1%, it is 99% execution.”
In a Service Economy, when you do common things uncommonly well, you create separation. You stand out from the crowd.
At The Covenant Group we have built a best in class management platform to engage users daily in implementing best practices and tracking activities and results to build their business. It features data intensive, visually rich tools and just in time educational content, combined with real time financial data to create a dynamic performance platform.
“In building Coach On The Go™, our Vision is to enable our clients to better understand what is required of them to build a successful and sustainable business and how they can do it in a cost effective manner and with a simplified process that optimizes their effectiveness.”
Coach on the Go™ is designed to align four cornerstones that are the foundation of every successful business:
1. Strategy
2. Structure
3. Systems and Processes
4. Financial Management
Strategy is the clear plan of action to achieve your objectives. We define strategy as the alignment of outputs/objectives, capabilities and resources and the opportunities and challenges the environment provides. Coach on the Go™ guides you in setting objectives for your business over the next one, five and even, ten years or more, determining what you will require in terms of people, capital and technology and assessing how to take advantage of the opportunities in your chosen markets and address threats to your business.
Structure is the system of roles, role relationships and policies that define accountability and authority. Coach on the Go™ addresses three questions every entrepreneur has to answer:
1. What role do you want to play in your business?
2. How big do you want your business to become?
3. What is the required organization to realize your business goals?
“Coach on the Go™ will assist you in building the organization that will realize your vision for your business”.
Systems and Processes provide the framework for running the business. “A system is defined as a set of detailed methods, procedures or routines created to carry out a specific activity, perform a duty or solve a problem.” (Source: BusinesssDictionary.com). Successful businesses are built upon replicable processes. A process is a pattern or methodology that is distinguishable, repeatable and transferable. Coach on the Go™ provides you with the systems and processes to differentiate your business by doing common things uncommonly well, consistently demonstrating excellence and building a high performance team.
Financial Management is critical to the ongoing health and vitality of your business. Coach on the Go™ enables you to gain control over five financial levers:
1. Your Product and Service Mix;
2. Size of Sale;
3. Number of Sales;
4. Seasonality of your business, and
5. Cyclicality.
When you align these five financial levers with your marketing, sales and service initiatives, you gain mastery over the growth trajectory of your business. Coach on the Go allows you to track the vital life signs to ensure the health and vitality of your business.
Coach on the Go™ provides entrepreneurs with a proven performance platform for themselves and their teams to achieve and sustain peak performance.
