THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAR STANDARDS

As part of the research for my book – Purpose, Passion & Performance – How systems for leadership, culture and strategy drive the 3Ps of high performing organisations – I interviewed Jamie Cook, a recent client and one of three founding partners of Stone & Wood Brewing Company, who was recently in the news, for selling their ‘little, independent’ Byron Bay brewery to Lion – for $500m. Well done Gentlemen!

It’s a good time to reflect on how Stone & Wood built their business, what was the foundation to their success and understand what they prioritised in the early days, when Stone & Wood was just a bunch of good mates with a passion for great beer, community and wanted to build something which was unique and lasting.

When I sat down with Jamie over two years ago and asked him about how he and his co-founders inspired high performance, he communicated the importance of starting with a clear purpose.

“So very early days, when we developed our purpose statement, which was very much around establishing a sustainable brewing business that develops, embraces and adds value to its communities, and that being all of the communities (stakeholders) surrounding the business,” said Cook.

To maintain a high performance culture, Jamie also stressed the importance of setting high benchmarks.

“I guess you’ve got to be a little bit of an attention to detail freak and set high standards. I’ve had feedback over the years, you’re a tough taskmaster or you set high standards, but at the end of the day, if you don’t do that, then you don’t create a great business, in my view.”

“So yeah, just good enough isn’t good enough. And I think people have that same perspective in the business.”

Stone & Wood is a clear success story. And the Founders legacy will not be only great beer and regional jobs, but they have also developed incredible people – people who met the standard, raised the bar, and set the new benchmark.

In my book Purpose, Passion & Performance – How systems for leadership, culture and strategy drive the 3Ps of high performing organisations – I explain that for standards to be effective, we must both role model the standards expected and explain them in clear, measurable terms.

Purpose, Passion & Performance: CHAPTER 15

FOUR STEPS TO SETTING STANDARDS

1. Remember that people are not mind readers. They cannot tell what your expectations are simply by reading your facial expressions. Yet many leaders assume that their people should just ‘get it’. They often delegate tasks or set new projects; but miss the part where they explain the standard of work they expect. Communicate your expectations clearly and often. Repetition is good!

2. Stick to measurable objectives that deliver results. Generic statements, metaphors, and riddles are not standards.
For standards to be effective, they must be motivating, aspirational, positively worded, and above all – measurable.

3. Role model your standards. Remember the old ‘do as I say, not as it do’ adage? It doesn’t work. You can’t have a two-class system. Leaders must hold themselves accountable to the same standards as everyone else. Otherwise they are just empty statements. 
And by the way – it’s OK to slip up. You’re only human. It’s how you acknowledge your own slips and demonstrate your own vulnerabilities and learning styles that matters. Openly recognise your own mistakes and move on.

4. Communicate WHY something is important. Your people need to know how their roles make an impact on customers, the team, and the business. They need to know how what you’re asking them to do enables performance. Many leaders fall short in doing the work of translation – translating how individual actions drive results. Make the link clear for people – and if that means being more transparent with your numbers – then embrace it. Educate your team on the business of the business and help them understand how to read the metrics that matter by trusting them and sharing your numbers.

If you’d like to know more about how to embed systems into your business that drive high performance outcomes – please contact me for a chat.