If you have read the best-seller Good to Great, you may be familiar with this concept. The book examines the challenges a good company faces when trying to make the jump to being a “great” company. If you read October's issue, you know the same struggle exists for good operators in our industry. Only 3% of industry operators ever reach a performance level that could be described as “great.” Here are a few thoughts to consider for those of you who desire to make the jump from good to great.
Why is Good the enemy of Great?
One of the greatest adversaries of good chauffeured transportation companies is the lack of competition. When 80% of operators are either losing money or breaking even, it is not extremely difficult to be the best operator in a given market. Throughout history, most every great performer (whether in business, sports, etc.) has relied on the existence of a formidable opponent to challenge and push them to do better. If you don't have a formidable business adversary that challenges your business performance, you may need to find one or create one.
Seeking Out Competition
This is a very private industry. The absence of public industry standards and performance benchmarks makes it extremely easy for good companies to become content with less than great performance. After all, they have no way of really knowing how much better they could be doing. It is human nature, if you have a competitive spirit at all, to perform at a higher level once you determine that it is possible to do so.
If no operator is challenging you in your market, CTA can help you raise the bar. CTA can demonstrate how your business stacks up to the greatest performers in our industry over the past 30 years—line item by line item. That is genuine competition. Are you up to the challenge?
