Finders, Minders and Grinders. Those three terms have been used to describe the essential duties and responsibilities within an organization. When in harmony, they might create a successful and sustainable company. Typically, the Finders are viewed as the rainmakers who seek out new business and relationships. However, if 2020 taught us one thing, it is that being a Finder is not just about company sales—it is also about providing vision, clarity, and agility.
The Finders of our post-pandemic business world need to live in the future, plot a course for
continued success and take on strategic responsibility for building value today for a strong
business tomorrow. In our experience, working with leadership teams of all types of businesses,
Finders demonstrate some specific attributes that are essential to success:
- Visionary
- Idea Generator
- Innovator or Dreamer
- Catalyst for Future Change
- Relationship Builder
As you make plans for the coming year, consider how you can view your role through the lens of each of these future-focused Finder attributes, and how it will positively impact your organization.
Visionary
A visionary leader encourages and inspires their team to rally around a future goal that their company strives to achieve. They consistently and clearly communicate what the future holds. Visionary Finders can anticipate what is coming, both opportunities and potential obstacles along the way and how to best navigate the road to business recovery.
The visionary Finder works in the present moment while also driven and inspired by what the company might become in the future. They provide strong direction for the path ahead and give a well-defined rationale for how decisions and scenarios presented today relate to the future vision.
To become a visionary leader, you consider the two skills to refine and develop: Spot things early. The sooner you notice something that will impact business conditions, the faster you are able to react—which gives you a strategic advantage. Train yourself to spot changes and imagine their future impact on your industry and customers. Second, connect the dots. After gathering new ideas, think about what they could mean for the future of your organization. Be conscious of your own biases. It’s a natural human desire to imagine future events in an overly positive way.
Idea Generator
Most business leaders have brilliant ideas, but it is all too easy to neglect the actual process of implementing them. The Finder is the idea generator, the one who is constantly seeking new ideas to enrich customer service, automate processes, enhance product quality, and drive new sales. Finders spend most of their time in Finding activities. They will work 24/7/365 seeking new ideas and methods, and in doing so they enlist the help of trusted employees, associates, vendors, and partners.
To navigate the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Finders might need to generate new ideas to revamp their business models, restructure safety protocols, and develop comprehensive digital presences to stay resilient in the post-pandemic era.
Innovator and Dreamer
The definition of innovation is to introduce changes to improve. We are all much more likely to stay in a comfort zone than to make changes. With many resources available to the Finder, an organization’s capacity for innovation ultimately depends on an innovation system: a coherent set of processes that dictate how the company identifies problems and solutions, synthesize ideas into a business concept, and selects which business goals take priority.
While long-term innovation is important, sometimes a company needs to move much more quickly in response to changing circumstances. In 2020, we experienced just that with the COVID-19. While some traditional markets struggled, we experienced emerging needs coming from many areas—all of which had the common theme of keeping business moving, working on the safety and wellness of employees, and meeting client demands even in digital and remote settings.
Continually improving standing in the eyes of customers is the key to long-term growth and market advantage. Innovation may quickly leave a company behind if it can’t adjust to new ways of operating, or to changing customer demand for new products and services. We remember companies like Radio Shack, Kodak, or Blockbuster, all breaking new ground, and at the height of their markets, failed to innovate and ultimately declared bankruptcy. The lesson to learn is to keep innovating and avoid inertia no matter how ahead your business may be.
As you plan for your company’s goals for 2023, what are your innovation efforts for the coming year? What does it take to sustain a culture in which improvement and innovation can both thrive in your business? A Finder that understands the importance of process improvement and innovation and encourages their team along the way will be the innovators of the future.
Catalyst for Future Change
How does your company overcome the mentality of operating “the way we’ve always done it?” The Finder is the catalyst for change. 2020 taught Finders that change is inevitable. The Finder doesn’t resist change but understands that they need to be quick and adapt with the speed of change as it comes—even be steps ahead. As the Finder, work on creating a plan to quickly retool specific needs in technology, operations, customers, and business models to address the shifting demands.
The changes many business owners are making right now may have been created out of necessity, but they have great potential beyond the current crisis. Think of what your company needs to do to be a catalyst for change in 2023 and beyond, which may include:
- Boost market share in new or current markets.
- Recalibrate current products or services to provide further value.
- Launch a new product offering or service.
- Disrupt the competition by introducing new processes or business models.
- Create quick resolution of obstacles.
- Discover new ways to operate and to move the business forward.
- Create additional products, services, business extensions, and better processes for the business’s existing practices.
Relationship Builder
A successful Finder spends most of his or her time building relationships and pulling others into the Finder’s future. The success of any company is due to the relationships that the Finder creates with others. Building relationships takes time and it’s typically the best time the Finder can spend in helping the company succeed.
Companies may no longer view their business as simple one-time transactions. Creating an enduring alliance is the key to business success. These relationships exist internally, among your team and partners, and externally with customers, suppliers, and even competitors. Developing and nurturing healthy relationships goes beyond a one-time project, by providing consistent value, transparency, and honest communication.
Finders should spend their time knowing the ideal customer. Building relationships and taking time to understand your customers may give you greater insight into their wants, needs, purchasing influences and even personal interests so you can cater your interaction and offerings accordingly. Beyond providing a product or service to your customer, as the Finder it is your responsibility is to be open and honest in all your dealings. Deadlines, surprises, challenges, and problems are all part of operating a business. Being completely transparent about tough issues with your customers will preserve your reputation. When a conflict arises, do not let it come to a boil. Take quick action to substantiate the facts and resolve the issue. Lastly, if you plan to secure working capital and a business loan to invest in your business, developing a good relationship with a banker may be to your advantage. It’s best to foster those banking relationships well in advance when business is healthy, and before you are in a cash flow crunch and need financing.
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
Regardless of where you are in your journey as a Finder—a seasoned veteran or launching a start-up—you might consider following each of these five key attributes. The future-focused Finder will be the one to lead their company and unlock bolder aspirations to build a greater business.
Resources:
1. The Danger Zone: Lost In the Growth Transition (4th edition), p. 23-24
2. Anticipate, The Art of Leading By Looking Ahead, pg. 84
3. “You Need an Innovation Strategy”, Harvard Business Review, June 2015, 44–54
4.“10 Famous Companies That Went Bankrupt or No Longer Exist”, StashLearn, July 2017
5. The Danger Zone: Lost In the Growth Transition (4th edition), p. 25-26
6.The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, p.108