No matter what the sport or business, we all have a Most Valuable Player. Surprisingly, most businesses either do not recognize the MVP, do not realize the importance of demonstrating appreciation, or fail to include the MVP in the most important business decisions or processes.

The first step is to identify the MVP. The second step is to create a consistent method to reward and include the MVP.

Step One: Identify Your MVP

If you were to stop reading right now and made a list of individual contributors, who would you name as your team MVP? In sports it may be the individual who scores the most points, provides the best defense to contain opposing points, or the person who changed the tide of momentum with complete selfless dedication and stamina. Is that how you would measure an MVP in your business team? Is it the person that earns the most revenue, controls the expense, improves the processes or inspires others with selfless dedication?

If you made a complete list of individual contributors, positions and responsibilities, which one is indispensable? Yes, there is always one contributor and relationship that an organization must have to survive. Have you identified that responsibility, and are you investing time and effort to integrate this MVP?

The first instinct for many organizations or groups is to believe that the manager is the MVP. In many of the most successful organizations the leader recognizes and develops the talents of the team above self. Several excellent examples of this trend are provided in the book "Good to Great", by Jim Collins. Talented organizations and humble leaders flourish together. Although the leader is the compass for these exceptional talents, the leader is not the essential MVP.

Within groups or departments of corporations, many people may point to an individual contributor as the MVP. It is common to have rewards for the most successful sales person, or to recognize individual performance for completion or implementation of a large project. In such cases, Managers and Directors can quickly point to an individual that has performed above expectation or average contribution and identify that individual as the MVP. Recognition and appreciation should be rewarded, but these individuals are not the essential MVP.

So what does every organization have in common that identifies the MVP? There is one common denominator for accountants, recruiters, consultants, manufacturers, government, enterprise business and sole proprietors. It does not matter if you are a receptionist, officer, chief cook or bottle washer. There is one contributor that we all have in common, there is a recipient of efforts that is commonly referred to as customer or client. That is our MVP. Without the customers, clients or recipients or our labor, our businesses would not be required and would surely cease to exist. It is our common MVP.

Step Two: What do you do about it?

Once you have identified your MVP, then what do you do about it?

Do you treat your customer as your MVP? Do not treat the customer or client as a burden, a process or an element of your job. Your customer is a free agent. Your customer has the option to choose or change alliance to another team, brand, company or service. Think of your customer as your MVP, and think about what you can do to keep that customer loyal to you. That loyalty translates into referrals, reputation and revenue. MVP's like to be part of a winning team. Make your MVP feel like a winner by rewarding their loyalty.

You can not always give your MVP everything that they want, but you can always give them recognition. If your MVP holds out for a better deal or threatens to trade loyalty, sometimes you can not meet the demand. Recognition and appreciation may not always make up the difference or eliminate a problem. However, failure to provide recognition for your MVP can create other problems. Value can be measured in reliability, recognition, reputation and response as well as monetary means.

Like all great teams, make sure that your MVP is a participant, not just a recipient. Communicate with your MVP. Ask your customers for input, advice and direction. Give your clients an opportunity to express their satisfaction, concerns or requests. Like any star athlete, your MVP's will have individual personality characteristics and traits that may be admirable or challenging. Recognize the personality, but focus on the facts.

The great thing about customers is that, if you want to know what they are thinking, all you have to do is ask. They will tell you. Customers want someone to listen, and they want someone to care. Does that describe the way that you treat your MVP?

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Words of Wisdom

"Anyone who views a sale as a transaction is going to be toast down the line. Selling is not about peddling a product. It's about wrapping that product in a service - and about selling both the product and the service as an experience. This approach to selling helps create a vital element of the process; a relationship." - Marilyn Carlson Nelson, President and CEO, Carlson Companies

"Customers don't distinguish between you and the organization you work for. Nor should they. To your customer's way of thinking, you are the company. Customer's don't know how things get done behind doors marked 'employees only'. They don't know your areas of responsibility, your job description, or what you can or can not personally do for them. And they don't care. To customers, those things are your business, not theirs." - Ron Zenke, "Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service"

"The great thing about customers is that, if you want to know what they are thinking, all you have to do is ask. They will tell you." - John Mehrmann, Executive Blueprints Inc www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com

"Companies that focus on cost cutting must confront a simple truth that they prefer to ignore or deny: There is not such thing as a free cost reduction program. Any balance sheet will tell you that if you take from one side of the equation, you affect the other side . . . . The unmasked question in a cost reduction program is who pays the price? Customers pay the price. Customers begin to see fewer unique and less differentiated products and fewer people to serve them. The people who stay on board to serve customers are not as excited or ambitious because morale is low. Cost reduction exacts an enormous price, and the prime target is . . . the consumer." - Lior Arussy, "Passionate and Profitable"