Remember Blockbuster? There are many well-known companies, like them, that have come and gone. Once a Friday night hot-spot for picking up the newest release, Blockbuster was replaced by companies like Netflix and RedBox. Their inability to transform at a crucial time in their industry left them in the dust. A similar situation happened to former mobile industry-leader, Nokia. Despite efforts to reorganize several different times, they missed the boat when it came to smartphone technology and overall user experience.

In my previous blog, I wrote about the Life Stages of a Business and why business owners or leaders should be aware of where their company is in its lifecycle. In the lifecycle, a business is either riding the crest or drowning, and while many organizations are forced to change in their drowning state or don’t change fast enough like Blockbuster and Nokia, there are some, like Select Security, who recognize the opportunity to transform their business when they are still riding the crest.

About a year ago, we began to take a look at how we could stay ahead of the curve in the security and connected home industry. To do this, we began using what is known as the Cascade Transformation, a process used by both large and small companies. Even though we are only still in the beginning stages of the Cascade Transformation, the benefits of this process have been noticeable. We have been able to refocus and re-energize the entire organization through the identification of our company core values: respect and value of the individual, fanatical customer service, and excellence in execution. These core values have been the guiding principles in developing stretch goals and accelerators for the corporate, department, and individual levels. Our team members are currently in the process of setting their own stretch goals and accelerators.

In addition to the refocus and re-energization, one of the biggest outgrowths of our Cascade Transformation has been the ability to take a strategic look at why and how we do what we do. The idea came from one of my favorite books, Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers. The book talks about “sacred cows” which are costly and outdated business practices and shows how companies can get rid of the ones that are hindering them. As a part of our own Sacred Cow Project, we formed several committees for each of our CP’s (formally known as core processes; informally known as cow patties). The committees were created to identify shortfalls and revamp procedures to achieve both excellence in execution and fanatical customer service.

As a consumer, you have many benefits to doing business with a company that is transforming in the prime of their life cycle. The first is improved customer service. We are taking a crucial look at doing things better, not just for ourselves, but for our customers. As a result of this transformation, we are continuing to make sure our customers are our number one priority. The second benefit is an enhanced customer experience. By improving our processes and procedures, we are ensuring our customers have a better customer experience.

So “why now?” you might be thinking. As a company, we have achieved much when it comes to our growth, our systems and processes, our net promoter score, and more. Even though we are pleased with where we are as a company, we felt the need to push the envelope when it came to putting the right people and processes in place, and making our customers our number one priority. A huge part of the OrgAlign is to make Select Security a Compelling Place to Work, Shop, and Invest, and we are doing that through our focus on respect and value of the individual, fanatical customer service, and excellence in execution.