Imperatives of a Commercial Focus

TOP Note—Know the Mentalities: It will help if you are familiar with the approaches people use for interaction and principles derived from these to guide individuals progressing in a career.

Adjusting the TET Axes

We now move from:

a person-interacting-for-benefit-with-others
i.e. a communal person-society focus

to:

a company-interacting-for-benefit in-a-marketplace
i.e. a commercial business-market focus).

Cf. the previous adjustment:Closedan employee-interacting-for-benefit-in-a-firm with an employee-company focus.

ClosedTHEE Note 

Plotting the Approaches

Interaction now refers to companies competing and cooperating as they pursue business activities in their markets. So the TET axes must be re-labelled

The essential «self» of a business, that can be developed to a lesser or greater degree, is the company. So we have Company development as the Y-Axis rather than Self-development.

Shifting the focus from a person in society to an business in a market alters the axes of the interacting-for-benefit table.

A business contributes to society primarily by defining, developing, entering, serving, expanding and supporting its markets in ways that enhance choice for purchasers. So we have Market contribution as the X-Axis rather than Societal contribution.

Business Imperatives

The defining imperatives for a business differ in quality from those for a person. However, rather little changes in the spirit and essence of what interacting-for-benefit entails. The changes are shown in the graphic below and the explained in the dropdowns.

How the interacting-for-benefit approaches manifest for a business operating in its market.

Closed ■ Profit!

Intrinsic to being Market-centred and the raison d’être of any business. Although this injunction is not far from the personal imperative to Make Money!, the ellipse foci change significantly.

The central job-focus refers to concentrating on the company and that is a matter for the proprietor, and the injunction is «run the business». The extreme enterprise-focus demands the mind-set of an entrepreneur because it requires concentrating and responding to ever-changing markets, with the injunction being: re-invent the business.

Closed ■ Promote!

This injunction flows from Cause-centred thinking. All staff must believe in their product and their company, and be willing to campaign for and endorse their value, and more …

Closed ■ Innovate!

This injunction flows from Perspective-centred thinking. This requires businesses to develop new ideas, respond to market shifts, engage new technologies, re-think operations and management, and more …

Closed ■ Fight!

This injunction flows from Power-centred thinking. Businesses must recognize that markets include competitors, that battles are unavoidable as companies seek to dominate their markets, and more …

Closed ■ Give Value!

This injunction flows from Community-centred thinking. Businesses must recognize that they exist to serve customers (not the other way around), that customers will move on if they do not feel they are getting a fair deal, and more …

Closed ■ Bond!

This injunction flows from Kinship-centred thinking. Businesses must recognize that they depend on customers, that their sustained profitability is most likely if they can retain their customers over the long term, and more …

Closed ■ Anticipate!

This injunction flows from Reality-centred thinking. Businesses must recognize that although market changes are preceded by warning signs, recognizing them and gaining commercial advantages requires penetrating and imaginative insight, and more …

Originally posted: July 2009