How often do you work "on" your business?
If your focus is only on daily operations, you may be making a classic oversight: neglecting to work ON, rather than just IN, your business. The most successful business leaders consistently carve out a portion of their time to optimize their companies in key areas. As you do the same, you will be amazed at the difference it makes.
What is the cost of a dull axe?
Here is one of my favorite quotes:
Abe knew from years of experience that working with a dull axe expends 3 times as much effort as using a sharp one. It also wastes valuable time and money. The same is true in modern business: working exclusively in the business will inevitably dull the axe. However, regularly scheduled axe sharpening--working on your business--will unleash the power of your employees in ways you haven't even considered.
Don't fall into the trap of viewing axe sharpening as a luxury; because over time, a sharp axe will literally turn mountains into molehills and dramatically accelerate your firm's growth and profitability. All high-performing firms realize this and make sure they keep their axes sharp. (See https://www.victory-quest.com/sharpening-your-axe for more ideas and tools to help leaders keep their personal axes sharp.)
What does this have to do with Victory Intelligence (VQ)?
Victory Intelligence (VQ) refers to a firm's ability to win in the marketplace. It is a phenomenon I have seen over and over in my 30+ years of working with numerous businesses and their leaders. Stated simply, VQ is a measure of a company's capacity to grow. In fact, VQ is THE determining factor in how much success a business can achieve. This graphic lists the 5 fundamental components of Victory Intelligence:
Humans have varying levels of IQ and EQ.
Everyone is familiar with IQ, (intelligence quotient) as a measure of rational intelligence. People with high IQ tend to excel in technical work. However, high IQ alone does not ensure that a bright worker will successfully transition into becoming an effective leader. EQ (emotional intelligence) has recently emerged as a critical aspect of leadership. EQ is a measure of self-awareness and knowledge of how one's behavior affects those around him or her. Workers with high EQ are much more likely to be promoted than their highly intelligent peers who have lower EQ.
Similarly, businesses have differing levels of FQ and VQ.
In a similar fashion, young firms with a strong product/service, great people, and strong work ethic are going to grow rapidly. They have what could be called a high FQ (fundamentals intelligence.) High FQ can take a firm to around the $5-$20 million range in sales, but they often get stuck at that level. In order to avoid this, a firm must combine FQ with VQ in order to break through to the $100 million dollar range and beyond.
What are the hallmarks of healthy Victory Intelligence (VQ)?
For a firm to have strong VQ, there must be a strong understanding of the 5 elements of VQ throughout the organization. In other words, for VQ to be in place, everyone in the firm--top to bottom--must understand the following:
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Strategy:
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Are your people aligned around a clear strategy? If a visitor were to ask 5 people at random what the 3 main goals of the company are, would she get 15 answers? Or just 3? The more unique answers your people give to this question, the lower the overall Strategic Intelligence of your firm.
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Process:
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Do your people work a lot of overtime? Do you constantly have missed deadlines, finger-pointing, low profit, and in-fighting? These are almost always a symptom of low Process Intelligence.
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Culture:
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Leadership:
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Is strong leadership demonstrated at all levels of the organization? I.e., do all team members exhibit high EQ, mentoring and communication skills? If not, your company's low Leadership Intelligence is likely limiting the growth and happiness of your company and the good people who work there.
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Organization:
Can VQ be Measured?
The good news is that VQ is not just some etherial concept; it is a metric that can be measured and enhanced. Victory Quest Business Advisory measures these 5 Intelligences through performing a simple Organizational Diagnostic Assessment. This is accomplished through discrete, anonymous interviews with a cross-section of 10 employees from various levels and functions within the company. Based on their responses to specific questions about each of the 5 Intelligences, we are able to create a scorecard that looks like this:
In this specific example, Leadership is the highest of the 5 Intelligences, while Organizational is the lowest. And all 5 Intelligences leave a lot of room for improvement, which is not uncommon for a high FQ firm that has gotten stuck.
Using this as a framework, we'll jointly "sharpen the axe" together and implement specific measures that dramatically elevate your firm's VQ. This approach shines the light on hidden barriers that are holding back your growth and profitability and empowers your people to remove these barriers themselves. As their individual VQ expands, overall company VQ will increase, and that will trigger a virtuous growth cycle that will endure, with high levels of engagement and profitability. The impact of improved VQ is so powerful that you will be amazed at the stellar results you start getting from your current employees!
Is lack of Victory Intelligence holding your firm back?
The best way to find out if you have a VQ challenge is to schedule a call or meeting with Victory Quest. Together, we'll explore the best ways to identify your VQ gaps and initiate an employee-friendly plan to fix them. By raising the collective VQ in your firm, your team will amaze you with their ability to find answers for the frustrating challenges you have been facing.
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