A well known hiker story tells of two hikers who notice unmistakable evidence that a bear was on the same trail only minutes earlier. As they both stop one pulls out binoculars to try to site the bear while the other one is hurriedly switching from hiking boots to running shoes. The first one says, “Don’t bother you can’t out run a bear”. The other hiker replies “I don’t have to out run a bear, I just have to outrun you.”
That story is not a good example of teamwork, emotional intelligence, or social responsibility but it is a good example of how a slight edge is all that is needed to stay ahead of the competition. While we often emphasize the need to work as teams and be internally collaborative, an inherent contradiction is that business success depends on being externally competitive or having a slight edge over others in the industry.
Benchmarks provide a measure to indicate if you are ahead of or behind your competition. Executing strategies to catch up, pass or gain a slight edge are of course critical but how do you know whether you need running shoes, a motor cycle, or a jet as your strategy without a benchmark? The answer is you don’t! Without indicators of your position and progress relative to the bear, you’re running wild and scared.
Benchmarks of workforce management are employee engagement; leadership effectiveness; employee job fit; sales performance; and customer service measures. If you do not have a reliable benchmark in each of these areas you don’t know if you have a slight edge or if your competitor has it. Watch for future posts here that will address these and other benchmarks to help you establish and maintain a ‘slight edge’.
