10 factors for success

Challenger organizations are by definition forward-bound, it is in their DNA to keep a high pace and to be innovative. This pays off in the long run. 

In the Corporate Culture in the 21st Century project, Kairos Future has asked the question: What generates success in the world of tomorrow? It turned out that Challengers are the future (which other trends have already convinced us about)! 

What is a Challenger? Companies and people who want to change the world, challenge and grow. The enginge of Challenger companies are self-driven employees who make wise decisions for the whole. To lead these companies, we use the world’s simplest management tool: WHERE-WHAT-HOW. Direction, business, and culture. With our concept, we create world-class companies. 

Kairos Future featured 10 success factors, we look at them from a Challenger’s point of view:   

1. Courage to take lead in changing our working methods and offersCourage is crucial to succeed as a Challenger. It takes a lot of courage to build companies differently, to lead differently, to create change and to be self-driven.
2. In my workplace, we are passionate about being the best within our fieldChallengers often challenge their industry, both to lead the change and to continue to grow.
3. Inquisitive, curious and open corporate cultureCuriosity is another crucial feature of a Challenger. Curiosity ranges from asking and learning from colleagues, to being open to new perspectives, eg. in a recruitment process.
4. Good at transforming world and customer/user insights into new offersTransparency is an important ingredient in creating new offers and targeting audiences. If customer service can share their insights with R&D, sales do not have to end up with badly adapted products to sell, for example.
5. Positive and inspiring atmosphereA curious environment with self-driven employees who take many initiatives is often both action-packed and inspiring!
6. Systematic work to identify new trends and opportunitiesThe external focus: What kind of Challenger are we? Do we have a head start on the market? What needs do we want to meet?
7. Clearly communicated and open invitation to participation in innovation workThe innovation work definitely requires both clarity and transparency. We talk about day-to-day innovation. In order to be able to innovate in everyday life, we need to tear down silos as well as share knowledge and information. No shielded innovation hubs.
8. My immediate boss is innovative and continuously looking for ways to improve our processesStrike out boss, everyone at the company takes responsibility to get better and achieve our goals! The infinite responsibility means that everyone is working for the whole – towards WHERE. 
9. My closest colleagues have a very strong work motivationMotivation is linked to the feeling of having an objective, a higher meaning, for what we do. The passion – the direction – is extremely important for a Challenger, all employees work towards the company’s goals, take initiatives and make wise decisions for the whole.
10. Senior management has a strong focus on long-term strategic issuesThe strategic cornerstones are a hygiene factor. It is crucial that they are developed in harmony with the passion and attitudes.

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Evelina