China - A Case Study in Success, Sacrifice & Core Values

A lesson for all business owners.

By Craig Arthur

The first question we ask when talking with a potential new client is…
"How will you measure success?"

The answer determines their North Star. (the destination) Together we can then start planning how to get there. And part of getting there, is deciding what to leave out. What to sacrifice.

The recent Olympics is a good case study.

Every athlete participating decided years beforehand what they wanted to achieve. Their North Star. It could have been:

    * a gold medal
    * any medal
    * to make the finals
    * to make the team

Regardless, all had to make sacrifices. They gave things up to achieve success.  But let us look beyond the athletes, to host country China.

China was on show to the world. It too could achieve success by demonstrating to the world its point of difference.  So how did its leaders answer the question, "How will you measure success?" By building the games around 3 core values.

    * Efficiency
    * Precision
    * Team Work

On all three core values China won Gold, and set world records. And just like Michael Phelps and Stephanie Rice, China can now parlay their winning performance into big business dollars.

But to achieve success, China made sacrifices. People raved about the efficiency, but said it was lacking fun and atmosphere.

That didn't matter. Atmosphere was not how China was measuring success. And China understands you don't need to please everyone to be successful.

Now to London. How can they possibly compete with China's performance? How can they impress and be different?

There is talk London will build their games around the core values of Fun and Atmosphere. To do this they will have to sacrifice efficiency and precision. The exact opposite of China. We call it Counter Branding. A smart move. I hope they do it.

So what are your core values?
What is your North Star?
And what are you prepared to sacrifice to achieve it?

Are you ready to go for gold?

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