In business today, it's simply not enough to have a good product or service. To achieve success, one has to ensure there is a supportive business model in place. What's the big picture and how can you get there? How can you form a solid foundation to keep your business ahead of the pack?

Beyond the classic 4 Ps (product, price, place and promotion) of marketing are four distinctive essentials of organizational excellence: principles, purpose, passion and performance. These concepts need to be defined, focused, monitored and carried through each day to give your company strength in direction and a true course for success.

The information in this article is selected from a detailed proprietary program featuring worksheets and analysis to help you develop your organization's personalized 4 Ps.

I Principles - core values
This is the meat of your business identity, where you set the standard for everything you do, why you do it, and how you do it. It's important to not only define these Principles, but to live by them. It does you no good to set goals or standards that aren't communicated and modeled by your team 100 percent of the time. In developing your principles, put them to the money test a principle isn't a principle unless it stands even when it costs money. In addition, test your Principles in difficult situations to see if they hold up.

I Purpose - vision
When defining your purpose, you must look beyond the obvious and ensure clarity after all, this guides your company's present and future. A well-developed, well-executed vision has three fac- tors: (1) the purpose must be powerful and established; (2) it only works with inspired and dedicated team members who are clearly aligned with it; and (3) team leaders must commit to seeing it through. When the purpose is recognized and embraced by your team, it brings passion and excitement to everyday operations. This enthusiasm is infec- tious, and necessary, to generating new business and ensuring all business is executed to the best of the organization's abilities.

I Passion - mission
This is the "how" to achieving your purpose your orienting battle cry. Keep it simple, no longer than a few brief sentences. This will help invigorate and organize your goals, and serves as the compass to keep you on course to achieving your vision. It's important that this declaration is clear and concise. Any team member on any given day should be able to glance at the organization's passion and be reoriented and reinvigorated about what he or she does and why.

I Performance - aligned execution
To obtain a desired outcome, a business needs to align all its facets: process- es, resources, infrastructure, motivations, performance and rewards. Properly aligning these elements is the key to driving the organization toward excellence. Performance empowerment and accountability measures are the spokes on the wheels of the organization's benchmarks and objectives all of which must be aligned with the passion, purpose and principles. These measures serve as quality indicators to ensure business success.

These 4 Ps need to be living elements, not just stuck inside a frame on a motivational wall poster. Each team member should have personal access to these. Teasdale Worldwide uses an accordionfold, pocketsize keepsake piece. There are powerful methods of involving the executive team in creating your 4 Ps. Further programs of staff buy-in to the 4 Ps can be used to communicate the big picture and equip them to advance the agenda in an orchestrated, effective manner.