There is a business theory that says that if a company focuses on building an “engaged” workforce, the bottom line will take care of itself.

There is another theory that says that if a company focuses on the “customer” and provides superior customer satisfaction, the bottom line will take care of itself.

A study was done recently to attempt to figure out which theory carries more weight. The answer turns out not to be “either/or.” It is “both/and.”

The companies with the best results report an engaged workforce which yields superior customer satisfaction. Apparently, the market will pay for it.

That’s a good combination for our efforts on achieving “leaner” operations.

The customer is our motivation. We earnestly and constantly consider our approach to serving them. We assume they only want to pay us for value. Thus, we work to eliminate any waste that they wouldn’t want to pay for.

Each wasteful step eliminated improves our service or enhances our quality. Hopefully, it causes our customers to see us as all the more effective. The goal is that we become the vendor they insist upon.

The process requires everyone on our team to be involved. No idea is unimportant. No step that eliminates waste is too small.

The constant process improvement makes the work interesting. Each achievement adds to our competency and to our confidence. We consistently seek progress. As we achieve it, we can go home satisfied that we are the best at what we do.

That’s how it’s supposed to work.

As a leader in the company, these are the two things I need to think about as I go through every day:

How do my customers feel about the value I deliver?

How am I intentionally going about improving that value?