Today marks the sixth anniversary of the creation of Seagrave French, see the founder’s story here. But what have we learned in those 6 years?
People first
We love our clients and we’ve learned over the years that the secret to a successful business is working only with people who you respect & admire. We’ve been so successful that we now have a choice of who we work with so if we don’t think it will work, “thanks but no thanks.” Because trying to please everyone is a recipe for madness. A good leader knows it is okay to walk away from a toxic relationship.
This goes for the team too. We’re a small team but we achieve a lot because of the attitude and skills every team member brings to the table. We are a very social bunch too and so many new people have a lot to live up to.
Systems, systems, systems.
If you are going to deliver consistently great service and the best advice, then you need a process for everything. A tried and tested method that you know works.
All word-class businesses are run this way and that is what we’ve always done.
Other people’s shoes
We try to give our clients what they want and so we try to look at everything from our client’s perspective and do things that way. To run a successful business, you need to be able to see others point of view and not dismiss them because you don’t agree.
Change is good
Nothing stays the same, and you need to be adaptable, doing what you’ve always done can be the death of a business.
Look Forward
Don’t run your business defensively, plan to thrive, not just survive. Look to the horizon and aim for that.
Jeff Bezos said that when he is congratulated on his latest quarter’s performance he says that this was planned for 3 years ago and he is now focused on the results for the quarter in 3 years. It’s too late to do anything about this quarter. What a brilliant way to look at running a business.
