--By Sujit Mundul

Lot of researches have been undertaken over a period of time on this important topic of unravelling the root cause of success of the great companies. It has been observed that lasting success of great enduring companies does not come from a single great idea, brilliant strategy, lucky break, or even a single great leader. Each of these advantages – even if a company has them – does not last forever. The foundations of a great company lie in more fundamental attributes. Great companies like P&G, Hewlett- Packard, 3M, Marriott, etc have attained their stature because they share in common certain timeless fundamentals which are:

Timeless core values and enduring purpose: 

Truly great companies maintain a set of core values and a core purpose that remain fixed while their business strategies and practices continually adapt to a changing world. They understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is truly sacred and what is not.

Let us take the example of Marriott’s. The group’s chairman mentioned that its core values did not emanate from intellectualising with Business School professors, following fads or listening to the ranting of management gurus. He emphasised that Marriott’s core values could be traced back over 80 years to the personal core values of J. Willard Marriott, the founder chairman. There can be no distinction between a company’s core values and the core values of the leadership. The values originate from deep inside the people themselves – authentic, bone deep, passionately held. The central theme of Marriot’s core values are: The belief that people are number one, a commitment to continuous improvement, overcoming adversity and a dedication to hard work and having fun while doing it – provide a foundation of stability and enduring character. We understand that Marriott belongs to the service sector but these are unequivocally applicable to other sectors.

In respect of Marriott’s core purpose, like many other internationally reputed hospitality chains, is to make people away from home feel that they are among friends and are really wanted. In fact, this could be considered broad enough to stimulate strategic change over a period of time and this purpose can also encourage strategic thinking about what not to do. It seems to me that perhaps most importantly this purpose provides inspiration by making clear that a company exists for far more fundamental reasons than just making money.

A relentless drive for progress: 

Core values and purpose alone cannot make a company great. It must also have an untiring drive to change, improve and renew itself. It would be apposite to remember Will Rogers in this regard, who said “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.” 

Let us once again take a look at Marriott. A simple question emerges – why has Marriott so far surpassed the vast majority of competitors from decades past and become one of the leading corporations in the world of hospitality? To put it simply – while the inheritors of successful family businesses often rest on the laurels of their parents, Bill Marriott Jr, to the contrary went around putting big sharp thorns in the Marriott laurels making it extremely difficult to rest. He did it, for the spirit of Marriott lies in the concept that there is no finish line, on ultimate summit, no “having made it”.

The litmus test of a company’s enduring greatness comes not only from its track record of success but from its ability to bounce back from failures, setbacks and difficult times. No company has a perfect, unblemished track record; all have faced dark days at some point in their history. I think the critical variable is resilience, not perfection alone. 

“How can we do better tomorrow than we did today?” This attitude of humility along with the constant search for new challenges, learning from successes and failures, and belief that good enough never is, will enable the company to remain great.

Strength beyond the presence of any one individual: 

In the history of great companies, we could find that they ensured from time to time that the company is much more than the visionary leadership of a single individual. The sign of a great company builder lies not in being indispensable but in building a company that will surpass itself in the subsequent years.