INTRODUCTION

Since the dawn of time when traders peddled their wares in exchange for other goods or money, those who own and lead businesses, from the local variety store owner to the head of a multinational corporation, have been attempting to unlock the secrets to growing their business, steadily increasing their sales revenue through time and consistently capturing market share from their competition. Having worked with executives from across North America, I find that this obsession with growth remains an unlocked mystery for most, which sent me on a quest in search of answers. What I learned throughout my nearly 10-year research is that the secret to growth was available to all organizations, but less obvious to most. The so-called experts who promote themselves as holding the secret to growth suggest it is tied directly to an organization’s ability to market and sell its products or services effectively. More specifically, in instances where an organization has a great marketing campaign aligned with a strong brand promise and is, in turn, supported by strong selling systems to capitalize on the marketing investment, growth is touted as not only obtainable but perceivably unstoppable.

Interestingly, these same experts often suggest that their own specific process, product, or service is necessary to unlock unstoppable growth for your organization as long as the business owner or executive is willing to unlock their wallet. However, it would appear from nearly a decade of meeting, working with, and supporting CEOs from around North America that this promise is all too often not the magic pill to unstoppable growth, leaving the perceivably elusive question as to what exactly does an organization need to do to become unstoppable? This isn’t to say that companies aren’t experiencing revenue growth or increased market share, but in the feedback I’ve received it’s often unpredictable and unreliable, making growth more of a roller-coaster ride rather than a slow climb to the top. Growth in one quarter, for example, might be followed by several quarters with lackluster sales. It would seem that not only do these proposed systems and technologies recommended by the experts not achieve the results suggested, but they add further complexity to a sales and revenue cycle that is becoming more unpredictable.

When I wrote my first book, Operational Empowerment: Collaborate, Innovate, and Engage to Beat the Competition, I wanted to help CEOs, executives, and leaders around the world find and apply the tools that are readily at their finger tips in order to build a stronger performing organization, no experts necessary. In that book, I dedicated several chapters to discussing the important role employees hold in helping to grow and sustain a business and a single chapter sharing examples and practices to identify how employees can support growth in relation to sales, marketing, and customer service. I realize now that a single chapter was not near enough to raise awareness of this opportunity most organizations have because before you ever worry about building a strong performing organization and team (which my first book was written to define), it’s critical to first make sales in order to grow the business itself. There is no sense perfecting your operating model if you first can’t attract and retain customers to bring in consistently growing revenue.

This book, The Unstoppable Organization: Empower Your People, Engage Your Customers, and Grow Your Revenue, was written to overcome my mistake and make things right. I want you to not only know but also understand and apply the not-so secrets of success that some of the fastest growing organizations across North America are using, because this is success that you can have as well. One of the benefits of having been a consultant during the last decade of my career is that it has allowed me to connect with literally hundreds of CEOs and executives to learn about their own unique best practices for growth, practices that are not based on one proposed method or a single proprietary system recommended by an expert, but practical and often overlooked opportunities that have supported growth. This book culminates these best practices that I’ve heard of, learned, and even applied with clients as a consultant through interventions in which we deconstruct how they approach their market and customers, creating a more powerful engine that will not only grow market share, but also create a repeatable and powerful engine for consistent growth. This isn’t about a single process or solution, but rather a culmination of shifts and adjustments in how an organization interacts with customers and employees and how, in turn, this influences growth.

You might be thinking: if this information is so common and practical that it can be documented here, how could you as a business owner, executive, or business leader have missed it? Well, to answer this I want to share a simple example of a client of mine, Saje Natural Wellness. Twenty-five years ago, Kate Ross LeBlanc and Jean-Pierre LeBlanc, the founders of Saje Natural wellness, shared a passion and vision that started them on a journey toward global wellness and building a globally recognized brand. Seeking healthier, more effective, and natural solutions to pharmaceutical medicine, they leveraged Jean-Pierre’s background in chemistry and Kate’s lifelong love for retail, including a natural talent for design and “everything beautiful,” to blend and bring essential oil remedies to the world. Almost three decades later, Kate’s original customer service pledge and their commitment to 100 percent natural formulations remain the founding pillars of the company. This customer-centric approach and commitment to the natural has built an unstoppable organization. Before we go any further, let me point out that the fact they’ve grown in both areas simultaneously is an accomplishment unto itself that few organizations have been able to achieve. Even Amazon, after dominating online, is only now beginning to consider creating a brick and mortar presence, most recently in the grocery sector as of this writing.

But in speaking with Kate to better understand their “secret” formula to such explosive and consistent growth, one thing stands out above all else. The success of Saje is the direct result of the highly talented employees that embrace and live the Saje brand. I know, that sounds like an overwhelmingly simple statement, but in Kate’s eyes the success of their organization, from developing their unique products to supporting their global clientele, and even down to identifying new markets to enter, comes back to engaging with her people. What Kate and Jean-Pierre have realized from the start is that a successful organization is built on a successful team, and that this requires more than just hiring experts in their field or holding periodic team-building events. In fact, the key to Saje finding and building their team has been in identifying candidates that are a “fit” within the culture of Saje, more so than having a specific skill set or level of experience. Experience is important, but being able to work well with the Saje team is the driving force behind determining whether you are hired to work for Saje.

There is more to Saje’s story and we’ll get into this shortly, but I wanted to share this specific example with you because it is rare. In all the years I’ve been meeting with executives and business owners attempting to unlock the secrets to organizational success, it’s rare that the primary consideration is to hire based on “fit within the culture” and “personality” over skill. After all, revenue growth, one would surmise, comes from strong marketing, better selling, and high levels of productivity. Interestingly, although these are key components to growth, what I’ve found is that the primary consideration for organizations that are unstoppable when it comes to growing is not skills, but rather culture. Though this isn’t a primary consideration for most, there has rarely been a CEO who has disagreed with me when I suggest that finding the “right person” who “fits” within a team is often more difficult than finding an employee with the right skill set. After all, skills can be taught; personality cannot.

Saje’s story is just one of nearly two dozen other examples I’ll share with you throughout this book, but more importantly, I want to come back to the point I made earlier. How you grow an organization’s revenue and, in turn, its market share is less reliant on the technology and processes you adopt, and more about how you integrate and involve your people. That is the secret to becoming an unstoppable organization, something we’ll immerse ourselves into in the coming chapters. In this book, I’m going to share and show you new ways to market that are less about developing a perfect logo, and more about capitalizing on your people. I’ll provide examples of companies that are selling differently than their competition, and capturing market share as a result.

What I’ve assimilated in this book are dozens of discussions and interviews through my connections with CEOs, executives, and leaders from across North America who are at the helm of some of the fastest-growing organizations in the world. Their success comes down to carefully crafting a system and culture that supports closer connections between their employees and customers. Although the philosophy might seem simple, the complexity comes in building and evolving this connection. This is not an overnight event, but evolves through a series of specific interactions that both educate and involve employees in understanding the organization’s vision, customer’s needs, and how their performance, language, and interactions have a direct influence over each of these variables. In this book, it is my intention to shed light on how organizations such as Saje, Hillberg and Berk, CenterLine, and Blommer Chocolate, as well as dozens of others, have created sustained growth through building these connections. I will provide insights and ideas on how you can do the same for your organization, at little to no cost, by just changing the way you structure, approach, and lead your organization.

If this sounds like a trip worth taking, then grab a highlighter or note pad and buckle in because this will be a journey that will challenge how you think and, more importantly, how you act.