The 4Ps That Drive Profitability

As with any solid structure, there is a foundation and pillars that are needed to support it. If any of those pillars are weakened, the entire structure is at risk of failing.

This analogy is true of organizations. At The Innovare Group, we believe there are four pillars that make up a healthy, profitable business. We call them the 4Ps of Organizational Alignment that Drive Profitability:

People, Process, Purpose and Passion

If one of these pillars is weak, the structure may still stand. Yet the other pillars bear more weight to support the shortfall. The same applies in our organizations. If, for example, good people, a solid purpose and passion for the work exists yet processes breakdown, inevitably the other three pillars will be impacted.

Misalignment of these four pillars carries an incredible costassociated with each that impacts customers, employees and the businesses ability to grow and scale profitably.

Unfortunately, we see this play out all too often. Some years ago I was a part of an organization that relied heavily on it’s supply chain partner to deliver a critical piece of its product that was client facing. A situation arose where the process pillar was significantly weakened and the resulting ripple effect was costly.

The company had taken an order, invoiced it’s client for the product, had it’s supply chain partner ship the items to the client and the client had verified receipt of the unopened box.

Then a week later, the client called frantically stating that what was inside the box wasn’t theirs. In fact, it’s not what they ordered at all. It had another client’s name on it and they were in need of what they purchased for their meeting that was to take place in one hour.

Yes, it’s true we could say that the client should have opened the box upon receipt and verified the product more closely. And although that would have caught the error sooner and a less stressful remedy could have been found, there was a bigger issue at hand.

As we peeled back the pieces that led up to what had occurred, the root cause of misalignment was in the process that started back with the order before it ever reached the supply chain. And this wasn’t an anomaly. It turns out there had been several supply chain issues that were viewed as one-off mishaps and not as a negative trend that had emerged. The costs incurred were both monetary and emotional, as the account team had to apologize, discount the next purchase, and insure that it wouldn’t happen again – which in their heart they couldn’t guarantee at that point.

This is just one example of the impact a weakened pillar can have on a business and why we at The Innovare Group are passionate about strengthening and aligning the 4Ps that drive profitability – People, Process, Purpose and Passion.

Please contact us to learn more about our assessment and consulting products that create clarity and alignment for your organization’s 4Ps.
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