Constancy of purpose
Create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of products and service to society, allocating resources to provide for long range needs rather than only short term profitability, with a plan to become competitive, to stay in business, and to provide jobs.
Dr. W. Edward Deming
How do you create constancy of purpose in an economic time like this? Companies are struggling to stay in business and there are two places to put every dollar of resources so what do you do?
First you figure out how to keep the clients you have. That means understanding what makes you different from your competitors and building on that difference.
Second you understand what they like and dislike about your service and your product. You meet with your employees to discuss how to improve on the dislikes and support the likes. Making them part of the solution.
When your employees feel they are part of the solution morale improves and you drive out the fear of job loss and build loyalty.
You hold a steady course. If you started out with the right idea, don’t second guess yourself. There are ups and downs to everything, including the economy. Companies that chase fads are always one step behind the competition. Instead you get a long term picture, derive goals to meet that picture and work as a team with your employees to accomplish the end goal. Ultimately you will come through tough times stronger than the competition.
Think of it as you would your retirement investments. You buy in and hold through the lows in the market if you are in for the long term with a good investment strategy ultimately you will have a stronger financial position than selling at every market dip.