How was your first quarter? Did you achieve your objectives? Why or Why not?

All we hear is that the economy is in park, that companies are bleeding and things are bad. But for leaders that know how to hold themselves accountable, things are so bad. What is business performance and why is it so important?

Business Performance is a set of management and analytic processes that enable the performance of an organization to be managed with a view to achieving one or more pre-selected goals. What do leaders need to do to achieve their business performance?

1. Select the right goals. We call these ‘realistic stretch’ goals
2. Manage a consolidated scorecard of metrics against these goals
3. Have leaders coach, intervene and help the team improve future performance against these goals or take action

So who were some of the winners in the first quarter of 2010?

Apple
Amid an ongoing recession that has dimmed prospects for consumer companies, Apple said that it saw record revenue and profit during its fiscal first quarter for the first time in its history. Apple reporting sales of $10.17 billion in Q1, up 6% from the revenue of $9.6 billion Apple recorded during the year-ago quarter. For the quarter, Apple sold 22.7 million iPods, up three percent from year ago. Doesn’t everyone want a product from inventor Steven Jobs? Talk about innovation and relevance!

Coca-Cola
The big red is changing to meet the ever growing needs of their customers with nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages and here is the proof. CEO Muhktar Kent said, “Coca-Cola’s worldwide unit case volume growth of 3% in the first quarter, in line with their long-term volume target, and driven by international volume growth of 5%.”The continued power of the global "Open Happiness" campaign combined with the initial roll-out of our FIFA World Cup program and an increased focus on Coke with Meals drove growth in brand Coca-Cola, with unit case volume up 3% in the quarter. Leaders lead. Stay tuned for more innovation from Coca-Cola.

Intel
The company recorded net income of US $2.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 288 percent compared to the first quarter a year ago. The net income beat estimates of $2.13 billion from analysts. "The investments we're making in leading edge technology are delivering the most compelling product line-up in our history," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO, in a statement. "We're optimistic about our business as Intel products are designed into a variety of new and exciting segments,"

Even the US government got things done in the first quarter with health care bills, nuclear arms treaties and aiding in the Gulf oil spill crisis. If they can do it, you can too.

How are you doing on your business performance? Contact Airlift to talk about how you can achieve your business performance and growth goals.

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(01) 312. 492.7772