Many of the CEOs I am currently coaching are experiencing steady business decline. These are not start-ups. They are 40-year-old businesses with a proven track record. But something is not quite working. And these CEOs readily admit, “I’m not quite sure what the purpose of my business is anymore.”
What’s going on here and how do we reverse the decline?
When I was a child, my giagia would wake me before dawn to go pick oregano. We would drive into the mountains of beautiful Kefalonia, park her Opel car, and start hunting for the green plant. All morning, we tried to fill our bags before the heat broke us.
When the snakes would start slithering about, we would stop and take our treasure home. We would dry it, process it, grind it, filter it, jar it. Our reward was the most delicious oregano I’ve tasted in my life. And as we Greeks know, you can never have too much oregano.
There’s something special about Greek oregano, just as there is with the chamomile my giagia grows in her garden. There’s nothing quite like eating a fresh tomato from the garden, still warm from the Ionian sun. The produce of Greece is a wonder.
Returning to the United States, I’m always depressed by how the food tastes. Tomatoes no longer hold any meaning. Lemons no longer dance on the tongue. Figs are inedible. And don’t even get me started on the oregano.
What’s the secret to Greek oregano? What makes it so special?
The secret… is in the harsh climate. Because these plants do not get much water, they are forced to conserve their energy. They concentrate their essential oils. That essential oil, that pure essence of the plant, gives a potent and powerful taste.
Like oregano, each business must find its own essential oil. Each CEO must understand what makes their business truly unique. What makes this business an absolute, vital need for society? That purpose for existing must be so potent, so concentrated… that no one else on the planet can dare copy it.
Since starting my consulting business, 3Peak Coaching & Solutions, I’ve had many challenges and many worries. But I’ve never once been afraid of someone stealing my ideas or copying my approach. In fact, I give it all away for free, online, every single day.
I do this because if someone tries to copy me… they will always be a worse version of me. Go figure, Mino is the best at being Mino! Authenticity makes me a monopoly of one and places me beyond competition. My aspiration is that when a CEO works with 3Peak, our company’s potent purpose and abundant creativity taste like an August tomato still warm from the Ionian sun. Truly unforgettable.
The core question for every business becomes, “how do I become the most authentic, differentiated, expressive version of myself?” And like the oregano, “how do I concentrate so much essential oil that a single bite lasts forever”? Anything less than that is like selling a salad full of sad American tomato.
Commit to having no competitors.
The constant comparison games only dilute your essence.
Every business has the opportunity to rediscover itself and rediscover its purpose. Embrace mission, embrace focus, embrace passion, embrace love of the customer. From there success will flow once more.
And if you want a small reminder, let some Greek oregano touch your tongue. Close your eyes and for a moment… marvel at the splendor, the symphony of flavor… the pure alchemy rising out of the harshest of environments.
Mino Vlachos is a CEO Coach and the Founder of 3Peak Coaching & Solutions, a leadership consultancy dedicated to elevating executive mastery. 3Peak specializes in transforming businesses through leadership and team development during transitions and times of crisis. Mino is also the host of the 3Peak Master Leadership Experience podcast and the author of the book “Crisis & Leadership”.
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