Quote:
Originally Posted by cummings66
See, this is like a dream, who in their right mind runs a business like this. Customers coming first and all, I mean it's insane. However, it is one reason I buy stuff from them.
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<DIV>I like how I get treated, and wish they were next door to me. Well, not really. I'd be broke forever if that was the case.</DIV> |
The company I work for recently started a book club for those who want to participate. There's only a handful of us that actually do it, but it has been really enlightening. We just finished our second book, called "Good To Great" which details what makes a good company break through past the competition into a great company. I highly recommend it to anybody in the business world.
Anyway, the primary focus is on a principle based on 3 interlocking concepts:
1. What can you be the best at
2. What are you deeply passionate about
3. What drives your economic engine
In a world of mediocre scuba stores which tend to go bust easily, somewhere along the way Larry and Joe managed to bring these 3 concepts together. I believe most scuba store owners are just trying to make a living and hopefully get to dive at the same time. Everybody knows this isn't a high profit business. I think they become satisfied with being "good". We've already more-or-less covered the 2nd concept...we're all passionate about scuba or we wouldn't be here.
I'm not sure if Larry or Joe realized they could be the best, but their customer focus brings people back every time. I'm willing to bet they didn't send you a computer to win your business...they saw somebody else passionate about scuba in a tight situation. If your focus is on your core values and not profit, then profit will naturally follow.
The customer-focus naturally brings in more customers, which in turn allows ScubaToys to cut down costs and prices, which in turn brings in more customers and the cycle continues until a happy medium is found.
These guys are the epitome of running a great company - pick something you are passionate about, can be the best at, and know what it takes to make sustained results.