One of our working principles is based on our belief that a successful company is opportunity-focused, not problem-focused. Opportunities produce results and growth. Problem-solving tends to prevent further harm to a business. We know we need to solve problems and do a good job at it. That’s a given. However, we should overall put more energy into opportunities, not problems.
Part of this working principle is to ensure we put our best people and plenty of resources to areas of growth and value to our customers. This is important because we know we need to constantly change and improve to achieve our goal of driving down the cost of payment processing while delivering world-class service. This is not an easy task. We need to take advantage of every opportunity available to us.
The second part is really about our mindset. Reflect on the past, but don’t dwell on it. This mindset affords us to step back and look at the entire situation, rather than only dissecting the features of the problem. Some people may call this being optimistic, but we feel it’s more about having good habits. Continually looking at the world as an opportunity becomes a habit and helps us grow.
Peter F. Drucker has been called the father of management thinking. He studies leadership and growth. If you’re not familiar with Peter Drucker, read what Harvard Business Review talks about him.
An organization will have a high spirit of performance if it is consistently directed toward opportunity rather than toward problems.
It will have the thrill of excitement…Of course, problems cannot be neglected. But the problem-focused organization is an organization on the defensive. It is an organization that feels it has performed well if things do not get worse.
Peter F. Drucker
Opportunity is missed by most people because it’s usually dressed in overalls and looks like work
Thomas A. Edison
Feel free to read more about TCM and how we are continually working hard to be a values-driven organization.
