Someone Else Who Gets It

I write often on the importance of working strategically and through partnerships with vendors. HBR (Harvard Business Review) posted a great piece from Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com, that made me stand up and cheer. Zappos sees it the same way as HTG does. Vendors are not the enemy and need to be treated like our best friends – as partners we cannot live without – as keys to our success – as critical components to a winning strategy. This article entitled “A Lesson From Zappos – Follow the Golden Rule” really hits the key points and says it better than I – so take the time to go and read this in full.


I do want to call out a few key statements in this article:

• Ultimately, each party is out for the same thing: to take care of the customers, grow the business, and be profitable.


• We found it much easier to create alliances when partners aligned themselves to the same vision and committed to accountability


• It all begins with the Golden Rule: Treat others as you'd like to be treated


• We realize the importance of communication, and if our partners are trying to reach us, we need to be responsive


• If we created true transparency in our business, not only would they help us, they'd benefit as well


• Negotiations at Zappos are a bit different as well. Instead of pounding vendors, we collaborate


• We know there’s no way we could’ve achieved our success as a company without our vendor’s commitment and passion, so every year, we like to show a little gratitude


• All of this is because of the trust we’ve built….we respect and value our relationships

I could not have written this article any more clearly than Mr. Hsieh has done it. We truly grow and succeed based on how well we are able to build and maintain and nurture our relationships. We want to focus on the customer, but I am here to scream that there are equally important relationships with our vendors and distribution partners. And the sooner you learn that – the sooner you will start to truly grow and succeed. If you don’t get it – as the article states – you will like find the “death spiral” most retailers find.
Relationships matter; and few are as important as those you build with your key vendors. Get them right, invest in them wisely, and they will take you far. Fail here and you can start planning for your next job!

Peer Power - So What?

The daily Harvard Business Review email today contained a great article on the power of peers. At HTG we have known and watched this for years. Peers do make a difference. They change things. Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan wrote a very insightful article that I wanted to make you aware of. Here are a few sentences:

"Peer to peer interactions may be the single most neglected lever of change. When enlisted, they are change's most powerful ally; when resisted, they are its most stubborn foe. Peers in large organizations are invaluable in spreading behavior change across an enterprise. In that respect, they constitute a woefully underused set of resources, mostly accessible within the "informal elements" of our organizations.

Whenever significant numbers of peers interact formally or informally, they constitute a force to be reckoned with. When they share mutual respect, they will listen to, learn from, and secretly support one another in ways that can shape opinions, create resistance, or generate energy".

I often am asked what the "magic" is in HTG. Quite honestly - this is it - the power of peers. When people come together to focus on others, rather than self, good things happen. When people create community with a common goal - change happens. It is a powerful force. HTG provides a framework to help direct that force. As we do, we see powerful transformation and change happen in the members. They do things they would never tackle on their own. Why? Because they need someone to help them move down the path giving them confidence and assurance they are not going alone. They need accountability to keep after it until they succeed. Peers make things happen.

Do you need change in your life, or your business? Find a group of peers that can help you drive it. They exist all over the place if you look. If you can't find someone, then create your own group of like minded folks that will take whatever journey you are facing with you. It works.

Many companies are now starting to realize just how powerful that can be - both internally with staff and externally with customers. Social media gives a platform for a lot of peer interaction to occur. We need to understand and learn how to leverage this change agent as well.

Don't miss out on the power of peers. It will change everything if you just jump in!