I believe Evergreen™ businesses are the most important companies in our society today—successful, profitable, and lasting companies, those that positively impact their employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and most importantly, families. These companies are fueled by purpose, put people first, and are committed to continually growing to last 100 years—or more. In many Evergreen companies, GGOB plays an essential role in the competitive advantage that these businesses enjoy.

At any given time in your business, there is one thing, an operational or financial number that represents a weakness or vulnerability that, if not addressed and corrected, will negatively impact the overall performance and long-term security of the business. This one thing is known as your company’s Critical Number™. Ultimately, the Critical Number defines winning. It rallies people around a common goal and directs a focus to what’s most important to the company’s success. From this definition, it’s clear to see why identifying a Critical Number is valuable to your business, but the Critical Number is also very important to your employees. If they do not understand and buy-in to the Critical Number, it is likely that this number will continue to go unnoticed. Here are three key ways the right Critical Number will strengthen your business:

I recently saw a semi-truck with a large arrow pointing towards the cab of the truck and this statement, “Our greatest asset sits 63 feet up here.” I have seen it before, but this time it struck me differently. I thought, Does the culture of that company support this statement or is it no more than a marketing slogan? Companies want to be “on top”, “cutting edge”, “innovative”. The question is: Does the culture support the cutting edge marketing? It’s great to have a catchphrase or some values on the wall, however, it is not easy to lead a group of people every day, month, and year after year. It’s not easy to lead the pack and in fact I am going to say DON’T lead the pack. Lead yourself first. Any great business coach will tell you to know your team, but do you know yourself, who you are, and why you do what you do?

If you’re like us, you were glued to the TV in the summer of 2019 watching the women’s World Cup matches. Spoiler alert: The U.S. women were the class of the tournament. But what made the U.S. team so much better than their competition? Certainly, American strikers like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan were among the top scorers during the tournament. But every team had its star players. We’d argue that the reason the U.S. team captured it’s fourth World Cup is that they were the best team from top to bottom. We think there are a few lessons businesses can learn from these champions when it comes to building their own teams.

As business leaders, we care deeply about employee engagement, but we can’t operationalize a culture of engagement by ourselves. Without a strategy for scaling it across the business, it’s tough to move the needle. As my own business has grown, I’ve realized that the best thing we can do for our employees is to focus on the top two or three actions that will have the greatest impact—and hold our people-leaders or “trusted lieutenants” accountable as owners of those initiatives.

We all know the fundamental building blocks of the Great Game of Business®: Know and teach the rules Follow the action and keep score Provide a Stake in the Outcome® When it comes to that third step—providing a stake in the outcome—what’s the best way to do that? Two common choices include cash bonuses and equity sharing. Many owners, especially those new to the Game, are skittish about sharing equity with employees. They can’t always put their finger on why it makes them nervous, but the reality is that using equity interests can be a great way to provide a stake in the outcome to your associates.

How does someone take three conservative intellectual property businesses with very traditional cultures and transform them into an engaged, high-performing business? To compound the challenge, we were now publicly listed and were moving the business from a partnership model to complete transparency. The Great Game of Business® helped us to overcome these challenges, culturally transform our business, and achieve both improved engagement and financial results. In the process, we learned four important lessons:

You’ve likely experienced people who occupy leadership positions and people who are leaders. There’s quite a difference. People who only occupy the position use power to get what they think is needed. Their use of questions often includes blame or demands control. Perhaps you’ve heard this one: “Don’t you agree, or is there something you didn’t understand?” People who are true leaders do the opposite. They ask questions to get people thinking about and owning the results of their work and the collective results of the company.

We love to see and hear the inside stories of companies putting the principles and practices of The Great Game of Business® to work in their organizations. As we revealed at the 2018 Great Game of Business Conference, we have a goal to impact 10 million lives in the next 10 years in the #sharonthedream campaign. Here are three of our favorite videos representing three very different stories of how the Great Game has made a difference...

Great Game® practitioners have many shared values, such as a commitment to High-Involvement Strategic Planning, and the belief that every employee can impact the bottom line. Another shared value, which may at first seem too obvious to mention, is an attention to the numbers. As Great Game of Business practitioners, we are attentive, even passionate, about the numbers. To successfully scale and grow our business, this passion and thought must apply to all numbers on the balance sheet. Having a “why” behind every employees’ compensation that can be sustained long-term is critical to keeping top talent around and attracting the best new hires.