How To Take A Blog From Good To Great
If you’ve created content that you want people to see, you’re going to have to do a lot more than simply write great blog posts.
The quality of your content is crucial, but you also need to make sure that you’re all you can promote the material as well.
If you want to market and promote your blog posts you should have a checklist on hand that details all the things you need to do, both before and after you hit publish.
Level 5 leadership
Everyone knows that leadership is important, but they don’t necessarily know what makes a great leader. There are many different types of leaders, but what makes a leader truly effective is their ability to look for solutions instead of blaming others. It’s crucial that the leader is willing to get their hands dirty rather than focusing on the glory. A great leader will also plan for the future of the business even when it exceeds their leadership term and set up their successor to achieve even greater success.
Right people on the bus and in the right seats
When problems arise in the company, many will look for someone to blame and will focus on that particular person rather than the problem itself. A great company will first make sure they have the right people on their team (on the bus) before even creating the strategic direction of the company, and then it will determine if the employees are in the right position (in the right seats). If an employee isn’t succeeding in their role, the problem may not be that they are a bad fit for the company. Instead, it could be that their role doesn’t play to their strengths and they are simply in the wrong seat.
Confront the brutal facts
The human body’s natural reaction to a difficult situation is fight or flight. When a problem arises, some choose to hide from the problem. A great company will instead take that problem head-on and not be afraid to make a change. A great lesson learned from Good To Great is that the great companies were not afraid to listen to the data and to what their consumers were telling them. Once they were aware of a problem or a growing consumer trend, they acted quickly and were willing to pivot the company to better fit their customers’ needs.
Be a hedgehog
There are two distinct types of companies–foxes and hedgehogs. The fox is very clever, but chases too many opportunities at once and becomes unfocused. The fox tries many strategies to catch the hedgehog, where the hedgehog only needs to roll up into a ball to protect itself. Your company needs to find its one big thing that it can be great at and focus on that to drive the business.
Stay disciplined
Once you figure out what your hedgehog framework is, you need to stay focused and stick to it. “Stop doing” lists are more important than “to do” lists.
Does it fit?
Shiny objects, especially when it comes to technology, are huge distractors for companies. Companies are often worried that they are going to be left behind or that they need to be first for everything. As a result, they can be easily distracted by new trends that might not fit their business or their hedgehog. Only utilize new technology if it is going to propel success and deliver results!
Flywheel vs. Doom Loop
The doom loop is a company which is reactive, overextended, delivering disappointing results, and is stuck in a loop of recurring failure. The flywheel is where a company begins to see success and builds upon it. Success or failure does not occur suddenly, so be patient. Once you start to see success, build upon it and it will give you the momentum you need to become a great company.
Built to last
The principles are that you don’t need to have a great idea, but instead a foundation that can prosper beyond any leader. Your company also should set seemingly unachievable goals to achieve unprecedented success (discover your Big Hairy Audacious Goal).