HTG Mantra

HTG in a sentence is changing slightly for 2010. I was once told that unless it was possible to define the mission of an organization in a sentence that would fit on a t-shirt, it was too complicated or undefined. For the past few years, our mantra has been “execution driven by accountability”. A very noble statement that has done us well as we have worked to become execution focused. But as we move to the next level with HTG3.0, the story is shifting slightly to become “business and personal growth driven by execution”. One of the things that has become extremely clear to us over the past few years is that execution does not always translate to growth. In fact, we have seen far too often that people can execute on certain goals or objectives and actually go backward in their pursuits.

The reality is that unless growth is a focus, there is no guarantee that execution will have the kind of impact that is desired. There has to be a concerted effort to move toward growth to make sure it will occur. It is part of the fabric of HTG, and while it was always assumed, it now will be very visible for all to see. It has been apparent for some time that the mission of HTG had to move beyond best practices to process development and prescriptive guidance. At our April Summit, we announced the continuing transition to that strategy which was first announced in February 2007 as part of what was called the HTG Business Triangle at that time. Members in more mature and longer running groups were identifying the fact that true change cannot be driven by best practice sharing. It requires a similar approach that any pro athlete takes when trying to refine their game. They don’t bring in a group of people to give them ideas and suggestions to consider. They hire the best coach available, practice all the time, and tweak their game until it is the best it can possibly be. This is where we are in the evolution of HTG.

We are now shifting from best practices being the focus, to peer review and coaching. Peers will still be the magic of HTG, but not in sharing what they do in a vacuum but rather looking deeply at the other members businesses and giving guidance that will lead to growth. We will get prescriptive in offering guidance that directly translates to the business operating platform so specific tweaks can be suggested for immediate implementation. We want to shortcut the time to change from months to weeks or even days. It is critical if HTG is to provide the maximum ROI for the investment our members make to participate.

HTG is committed to being a change agent for our members companies and lives. We are not content to just offer ideas and suggestions, which is what best practices really have been. The future is to drive deeper into offering real change for one another that moves the needle toward growth each quarter by sending members home with actionable goals that can be implemented quickly to drive maximum impact and return. So accountability is not going away – it will continue to be a differentiator in the HTG peer program. And as we hold one another accountable to business and personal growth we will be fulfilling the mission we have of helping each member become more successful and profitable in the marketplace as they achieve goals, plans and dreams.