All that we do is to gain competitive advantage by creating clear points of differentiation, cost advantage, value proposition enhancement; and/or by improving product and service quality, and consistency. Being better than our competitors is foundational, and those efforts should never end. This, however, in and of itself is not enough to lead your business to continued growth.

Whatever your company cores might be, be fiercely disciplined to sticking to them: core focus, core values, core customers/market, and core competencies. Distractions from the agreed-upon cores can be confusing to the team, can spread resources thin, and can confuse the market.

For culture to be effective, it first must be authentic. Many organizations go through the process of defining their culture as this is what is expected of them. Once you define the walk, you must walk the talk. People can spot phoniness a mile away; rather than undertake the exercise and not live it, it’s better to not do so at all. Culture must be real.

Budgets should be achievable, but not too easily. Stretch is good, but out-of-reach objectives are demotivating. Targets should challenge the team to make necessary changes and execute at the highest level. Bonuses are most effective when awarded based on meeting or exceeding budgeted levels.

Big ideas drive the entrepreneurial organization. They bring new things to life. Big idea thinking usually rests with the founder/visionary, but can and should come from all levels of a business. Without big thinking, no business would get off the ground, fewer necessary risks would be taken, and much less innovation would happen.

Accountability is NOT about assigning blame and applying punishment. In fact, when accountability is strong within your organization, the need to take corrective action with your people is dramatically lessened. When there is a deep-rooted understanding of what accountability is, there is payoff.

Awareness, I believe, is like a muscle. It requires focus, effort, skill, and repetition to develop. The payoff is that once we discover and develop our layers of awareness, even the most cloudy and uncertain situations clear up, and potential courses of action unfold.

If we can grab hold of this abundant approach to life, we will be happier, more effective, and move closer to achieving the level of success that we have set for ourselves.