Fortune 500 Similarities

Similarities of Fortune 500 Companies

According to Office of Advocacy, there are 29.6 million businesses in the United States. Surprisingly, 99.9% of them have fewer than 500 employees. Thus, there are only about 18,000 large businesses in the United States today (Office). The most outstanding 500 of these 18,000 companies are placed on premier business list in the world, the Fortune 500. If a corporation manages to make this list, they have basically done everything right; they have treated their employees very well and promoted a happy and healthy working environment, they have adapted to change tremendously in today’s fast-moving world, and they have been the frontrunners and leading innovators in their particular industry. With that,
I believe that many similarities are present in each Fortune 500 company today. I am certain that the most important feature of a company is not its ideas or innovations, not its CEO or top executives, but its employees.
The employees are what push any company to develop and thrive. Without good employees, companies tend to go backward rather than forward. When employees are dedicated and involved in the company, profits and successes are generally higher. Conversely, when they become uninterested and unappreciated, the company surely suffers. This is why the majority of successful companies on the Fortune 500 list make it a priority to keep their employees as happy as possible. According to Dr. Donna LaMar and Betsy Laney, both world renown psychologists, “Happy employees miss work less, perform better, and are more supportive of changes and willing to make them happen.” Some good ways to keep employees happy are to be encouraging and thankful, create a productive and good working environment, and make sure that everyone is involved as a team. “Happy employees make the customers happy,” says Alexander Kjerulf, a self-proclaiming chief happiness officer, and consultant on happiness at work, as well as the author of ‘Happy Hour Is 9 to 5’. “Studies show very clearly that when employees like their jobs, customers get better service and are more satisfied” (O’Brien). If a company shows encouragement, appreciation, and a good working atmosphere, they will have happier, more creative, and efficient employees
(O’Brien).
Google is probably the best at giving their employees a happy and healthy working environment. Fortune’s 92nd ranked company has an “onsite fitness center, putting green, and bouncy tent all located at corporate headquarters” (“100 Best Companies”). This fun environment is why Google employees love working for Google and why the company has been so successful. Teamwork and involvement are probably the most important aspects a company should promote if they want happy employees. When employees are asked for their input in regards to important matters, they develop a sense of ownership in the company and thus work even harder. Hosting employee events and creating a sense of family is a great way to get employees involved. This idea has particularly worked with Qualcomm, a wireless telecommunications research and development company based out of San Diego, California. “At Qualcomm, employees not only receive stock options on hire, but they take trips to baseball games, kayak tours, whitewater rafting trips, and surfing lessons. Their employee motto is, ‘Good people can do their best work’” (“100 Best Companies”). With all the successes Qualcomm has received lately, their employees are obviously doing their best work. Another similarity between many of today’s Fortune 500 companies is the fact that they are willing and able to adapt to change quickly with little or no trouble. In the extremely fast-paced world we live in today, change not only occurs regularly, but we see it as almost a way of life. Consumers are always looking for the latest and greatest products, investors are searching for the up and coming businesses to throw their money at, and companies are constantly inventing and innovating in order to produce the next big idea. “Successful businesses not only create the next great product, but promote and continue to improve it to the fullest potential” (Filbeck). The company that has done one of the best jobs dealing with change in regards to promoting its product is Yahoo. According to CNNMoney’s fastest growing companies, in the spring of 2005, Yahoo was one of the first major corporations to take advantage of the new social networking phenomena taking over the world. They immediately started running ads on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter as soon as they possibly could. As one of the first companies to use these sites for advertisement, Yahoo put themselves way ahead of their competition in regards to name recognition (“100 Fastest-Growing”). Yahoo took a giant chance when they put money into these unproven websites for advertisement, but the risk definitely paid off.
ScanDisk and Apple both have done better than adapted to change; they have initiated the change in their specific industries. According to ScanDisk’s official website, “ScanDisk has been the grandfather of digital storage systems since 1988”. They started off creating a digital camera storage device and now create a variety of products from memory cards, to flash drives, to even mp3 players. ScanDisk has led every step of the way in the digital storage business and continues to surpass all of its competitors. Apple has also changed its industry. According to Mary Bellis, distinguished writer concerning inventors, the company started on April 1, 1976 with the release of the Apple 1 computer. Since then, Apple has grown into a multibillion dollar corporation that is the leading innovator in the consumer electronics industry. To me, it seems that every one of their competitors seems to release a similar product immediately after Apple, but none of them can match the quality of Apple products. Even if the quality is somehow comparable, Apple has created an image that every product not made by Apple is second-class. All of these successful companies have risen to the highest level of their particular industry. One of the most important reasons is that they have managed to mold and respond to change within their industries by providing the finest advertisement and highest quality of goods. I believe that the most distinct difference between companies that are on the brink of Fortune 500 and those that are placed on the list are the ones who innovate faster than their competitors.
According to Robert Safian, editor of Fast Company magazine, there are three particular companies who have done well in this aspect; Nissan Motor, Intel, and Amazon.com. These three corporations have taken the lead and are working hard to maintain and extend their control over their particular industries. In 2006, Nissan Motor took a giant risk in investing into the unproven all-electric technology. But with their new product “The Leaf,” Safian notes that Nissan has grabbed the lead in sustainable transportation. Intel Corporation has also invested quite a bit into the future of their company; $8 million worth to be exact! According to Safian, “They plan to build a brand new research lab in Oregon in order to create their new shrinking chip for computing innovations yet to be imagined, and are also renovating and upgrading their other facilities all across the country.” Amazon.com, the world-wide internet shopping site, has also done a great job leading the innovations in their industry. They created and manufactured “The Kindle,” a rival of Apple’s “Ipad.” Critics said that the “Ipad” would easily win over customers, but Safian reminds us that when Amazon released “The Kindle” for only $139, Amazon sold over 8 million devices. Amazon also created and sold a mobile app, which is
wiping out the e-book industry. Unrelated to “The Kindle,” Amazon.com recently bought out Zappos and Diapers.com, which helps them rule the shoe and diaper online industry. As you can see, innovation is the most important trait a company can possess. It allows you to set the stage for your product, promote it as one-of-a-kind, and take the early lead over your competitors. When climbing the business-building ladder, one must know how to get to the very top. The easiest way to find out is by carefully examining the most successful companies in the world and mimicking them. Do not try to copy their product, but take a look at their values, their employee base, their ability to adapt to change, and their willingness and desire to take the lead on innovations. These are the most important aspects of building a very successful business.