Setting right priorities

Former F1 racer David Coulthard says the cost of a present day racing car engine has gone up from £5 million to £20 million. The race for new technologies and the sky rocketing costs are putting pressure on the smaller companies. So much so that just 15 of all the cars in the Australian Grand Prix started the race, something is wrong, says Coulthard, when all the cars in the fray cannot start a race. He goes on to makes an important point, when he cautions that we should not get so caught up in showing off technology, that we forget that there are people in the grandstand who want to see a motor race.

The learning point in this situation? The critical need for leaders to be clear on;

1. what they are in the business of

2. what they are in business for, and

3. what their customer needs are

Then set their business priorities accordingly.