When we look around our country now, it’s sometimes hard to see much teamwork, alignment on values, and inclusiveness. As we watch what’s going on in the world, we’re reminded of those best practices that successful companies employ to rise above the competition and take their businesses to new heights amid others’ uncertainty and inaction. Best practices that do not just make them financially successful, but successful in employee loyalty, customer loyalty, and brand value. These same practices can be applied nearly universally across professional and personal relationships, and we explore several of them through articles in this edition of The Jabian Journal.
In “Start With Alignment,” the authors continue the seventh article in their nine-part series discussing how alignment can be used as a lever to influence engagement. Alignment on goals, values, and outcomes creates powerful forces that can move organizations overnight. In “The Economics of Inclusion: Inclusion in Sports,” the authors review what businesses can learn from the successes and failures of sports inclusion. Sports is a living business case for how inclusion can positively impact a company and an industry, and the financial challenges that result from resisting the move toward equality.
Our feature article, “Business Lessons From the World’s Most Strategic Race,” looks to apply the successful strategies Tour teams implement to organizations’ strategic plans. No team has reached the pinnacle of cycling without a clearly defined, communicated, and implemented strategy, and the same can be said for business.
For “The Final Word” interview, we spoke with Dr. Kofi Smith who leads the Atlanta Airlines Terminal Corporation. Dr. Smith’s path to success took him from NFL dreams, to living in his car, to running operations at the busiest airport in the world—and he had time to get two advanced degrees along the way. As we’re all adjusting to working remotely, employing new work and personal dynamics, and trying to navigate through so much uncertainty, we asked for his best piece of advice, and he certainly delivered – “Know who you are, and whose you are.”
We hope you enjoy this issue of The Jabian Journal, and we welcome your feedback.
Thanks,
Chris, Brian, and Nigel—The Jabian Founding Partners