Experienced leaders often know a few factors that are absolutely critical to the success of an organization. When they consider joining or acquiring a business, they look for these same factors. One of these is so vital that without it, not only is progress at risk, but the very existence of the organization maybe in jeopardy. Organizations that successfully do acquisitions know this secret.

The secret factor is the magic of the heart. It is the reason we get up each day, the motivation and desire to win and succeed. If you show up every day with heart and passion, you will find a way to withstand any obstacle the business world throws at you. You will be an inspiration to those that work with you and for you. Unfortunately, even those of us that are driven to succeed can lose it, especially if we are tired, beaten, and staggering under the weight of responsibility. Losing heart and passion in your daily walk will certainly lead you to fail yourself, your employees and your customers. Some less experienced leaders may scoff at this and say that it is unimportant, kumbaya and holding hands, or soft stuff.

We see it as anything but “soft stuff”.

Jerome Dodson, founder of Parnassus Investments, said “Treating people well and authentically respecting them does lead to far better business performance. We proved it works.”   Parnassus started a mutual fund that only buys stocks of companies who are on the list of best companies to work for. They believe that if the “soft stuff” is well done, that companies will produce better bottom line results – aka the “hard stuff”. In the first 8 years, Dodson’s fund had an average 11.35% annual return per year (compared to 7.80% the S&P 500 returned over that same period). In the world of investments, that is a huge difference.

The heart stuff is actually the “juice” that makes the machine run and this can be directly tied to metrics. It also provides creativity, as well as knowing when to go at an issue in a different way. This energy, heart stuff, whatever you call it, we believe can easily be seen in an organization. Given a little bit of time individually with the top leadership team of any organization, we can predict the success they are having. Part of it is by what they say and part of it is by how they say it. Not only can we determine their success level, but we can identify their path to the next level of success. The people “inside the fish tank” sometimes have trouble seeing it, since fish are the last ones to discover water.

This same process works with acquisitions. Financial audits are commonplace with acquisitions. Heart audits (what are the values and intrinsic motivation of the culture and leadership team being acquired) are only now being recognized as just as valuable, not just to continue achieving the audited financials, but to improving those financials on a more sustainable basis. Most acquiring companies want to know the financials can be duplicated and improved upon.

In many ways, when the MBA craze was on the rise, it was all about thinking. Now, with the rise of the human psychological perspective, there is becoming more balance in what is really necessary for people and organizations to thrive.  IQ is about cognitive intelligence, knowing “what” to do. EQ is about emotional intelligence, knowing “how” to do it. Social intelligence is knowing “who” to do it with. However, in order to be able to use those 3 capabilities, there must be motivation.

Have you ever known people with very, very high IQ, EQ and lots of friends, but they basically do the equivalent of majoring in minors or playing video games all the time. They don’t seem motivated to build and grow themselves, a team or an organization. They don’t have a big vision. They are happy with the status quo.

Our program is designed to hunt down the heart of The Leadership Team, so it can lead the organization to a better brighter future.

Proven benefits of working with us:

1. 55% growth in gross revenue on average

2. 16% increase in gross margin on average

3. Leaders are able to work 22% less, due to a more efficient team and focused culture

If you are struggling to find the magic with your leadership team and want to pave the way to better results and improved lives, contact Candace at via email, CClemmer@AppliedVisionWorks.com or call us at 800-786-4332 at ext. 106.

Your future awaits you!

To find out more about how we can help you achieve results that are even greater than you though possible with practical advice and mentorship to help you and your team overcome hurdles and become the best you can possibly be, download our white paper “The 3R’s of Employee Management” by clicking here. .