No one wants to sabotage their business, yet hundreds of thousands are actively doing it right now without even realizing it. They're kicking up their feet, getting comfortable, and giving the competition time to catch up and blow by them in the business race.
Complacency in business is one of the biggest mistakes someone can make to sabotage their own business success. Whether it's because we get comfortable or the pace slows down or we're used to winning - complacency is a sure-fired way to shoot your business in its proverbial foot.
There have been many great companies who have faced the trials and tribulations complacency has brought them, including Domino's. I featured their story on C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett on C-Suite TV, and the biggest takeaway was that the company got comfortable - and it caught up to them.
Domino's made a brand promise to their customers by delivering pizza in 30 minutes or less or the pizza was free. I don't know about you, but there were many late nights in college my roommate and I would call and take advantage of that deal. But where their speed excelled, their quality lacked. Pizzas would come with toppings stuck to the box, burnt, half-cooked - whatever they could do to get the pizza out the door and to the consumer.
Eventually, this brand's promise started hurting the company, and their pizza quality and taste ranked lower than Chuck E. Cheese's - which is pretty low. It took a viral sensation of consumers sharing their distaste with Domino's pizza, sharing photos and videos of unappetizing pizza for the company to take notice.
Domino's listened, and in an executive board room a marketing plan was born: Let's tell the consumer we hear them, our product sucks, and we're going to do everything we can to fix it.
The marketing campaign worked like a charm, with executives making personal testimonies on national television making a new brand promise: we are going to focus on quality because taste matters - you matter. Pizza sales soared and they had trouble keeping up with demand.
Complacency drove sales for Domino's down the drain, but with complete transparency and hard work, they were able to turn the business around.
How do you combat complacency in the workplace?
Always stay hungry. There's always someone or something out there trying to dethrone you. By staying hungry and always hustling, you avoid giving those people that chance to take you down. You wouldn't want them to take a piece of your meal; don't let them take a piece of your business. There is always room to improve your business, to overtake the competition, or find the very best people to support your business. Stay hungry to achieve those goals.
Explore trends. Sure, the last few years may have gone great for you, just the way things are. Or maybe your excuse is you don't see the point in social media. Whatever it is, it's still not a good enough excuse for you not to explore trends, or turn down employees who challenge conventional thinking and current processes. You and your team should be pushing the envelope in your industry, thinking big and acting bigger.
Avoid burnout. Sometimes, burn out happens - even to the best of us. Whether it's mental fatigue or broken bones; burnout can strike whenever and whomever. The key is to either work through it or take a brief break. There's nothing wrong with recharging and coming back with a fresh perspective and even fresher ideas.
Prevent Johnny Vegas Syndrome: Kick Johnny Vegas to the curb (and if your name is Jonathan Vegas... Well... There's no relation). Johnny Vegas Syndrome sets in when one's britches are a little too big for them, and usually appears as one continues to taste (and soon expect) success. You might be winning left and right, but no one wants to do business with a Johnny Vegas. Stay humble and transparent to avoid this at all costs, because becoming complacent as Johnny Vegas and expecting what's to become is dangerous two-fold - you lose both, your customers and eventually, your business!
You've worked hard to build your business to where it is today, but there's always more work to be done to make it even bigger and better. By avoiding complacency and reaching your goals, you and your business will both succeed.