Edge – what is it – do you have it – does your company have it– how do you get it – and do you care? 

We believe that equipping your company with the right software tools is a way to help foster Edge in your company. CRM and Help Desk systems that WORK are competitive advantages and can give your employees Edge in dealing with each other and customers. This newsletter is designed to help you gain Edge in your business. 

I say absolutely you care and absolutely you must have it. I believe Edge is often the one quality that separates the top 10% from the others. It’s the difference between the people who are playing in the game and the ones who are watching the game. Edge is having the desire to win and having the ability to act courageously in order to win. 

Edge often comes out in professional sports athletes. It is a well known fact that there are literally thousands of incredibly talented athletes in all sports. You probably know or knew someone who had it all physically, but just couldn’t make it and no one could understand why.  It’s the person who was the best in practice, but could never win the big game.  In basketball, Michael Jordan had incredible physical talent, but much more valuable than that, he had Edge. He was the guy you wanted to have the ball when the going got tough. He was the one who could make all others around him better. He was the one who loved winning, but not nearly as much as he hated losing. Losing just wasn’t an option for him. 

What does this have to do with you and with business?

I believe that Edge transfers 100% to business. Most people don’t have the real desire to win in business. As such, most companies don’t possess Edge. Edge is also the ability to quickly make the right decisions in business based partially on informed logic and partially on learned instinct. 

Edge is displayed by some great business leaders like Jack Welch who ran GE for years and constantly made it his personal goal to push the organization to higher levels. It shows up in Anne Mulcahey when she takes over a troubled Xerox and makes the tough calls needed to reduce costs and turn Xerox around.

The lack of Edge also shows up in all places. The lack of Edge shows up when the Customer Service Department informs customer after customer that they can’t help, but they can transfer you to another department. It shows up when leads aren’t followed up on in a timely manner. It shows up when you have to escalate three levels in a company to get a $20 credit. Yes, Edge IS the difference. 

Written by: Tim Ancona, President