TAYLOR ROSE - HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THE EXTRAORDINARY?

ADRIAN JAGGARD >

CEO

When choosing strategic priorities for a business, it is fairly easy to identify those that will to have a positive influence on its success. Most would say that customers are essential (ideally old and new); goods or services are supplied at a profit; it has sufficient reserves to ride tough times; employees are capable and motivated; there are rules (not all written); and risks are understood and mitigated.

Most young businesses will start with customers and profit and work to acquire the rest (consciously or not). Survival will rest upon securing the above capabilities to a basic level before an event takes you out. A successful small business will probably also have picked up a particular inherent strength.

When a business is young, it's culture is heavily influenced by those that work within it, particularly owners and managers. They will shape the business as their capabilities and priorities migrate across to be possessed by the business itself. As the business grows, influence diminishes and characteristics become hardwired, increasing resilience over time. Finally, you reach a point where the tables have flipped and it’s the business that influences those that work within it; we call these characteristics our company values.

Taylor Rose’s values are:

•  Aspiration: To be the best that we can be
•  Commercial: Doing the right thing
•  Integrity: Open and honest
•  Innovation: Creative and dynamic
•  Commitment: Relationships for the long-term

At this point, the business fate is shaped, but not necessarily determined. I believe that we have mastered most key priorities and that our particular inherent strength is our aspiration; our collective ability to aim high and achieve the extraordinary. In my experience, strengths tend to conceal other weaknesses proportionately. We must ensure that our aspiration doesn’t compromise our other important attributes.

As the business grows, our management capability generally improves. Core activities are also done to a better standard as greater focus and expertise can be applied to each task.

Tolerances reduce as the business grows and we must keep improving every part of our business to move onto the next step. The extent of our success beyond this point depends upon which of our capabilities are prioritised. We shall continue to rely on our aspiration as the energy spark that powers our success, harnessing it to drive continual improvement.

Our extraordinary success is a result of our attributes, particularly our aspiration, and we should have the confidence to rely on these.

The journey for Taylor Rose is only just beginning.

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