Recently the following article was published in InBusiness Magazine in the insert highlighting the Phoenix Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
We felt the content was very insightful and we have begun using the methods ourselves. We wanted to share the information with our Three Dog Marketing community. Sandy Kolberg, Ph.D. is certified Gazelles International Coach who works with companies to create sustainable growth for business clients. On November 17th, 2011 she will be facilitating a workshop entitled The Mastering the Rockefeller Habits™ Four Decisions™ Executive Workshop to help CEO’s and Business Owners start their 2012 strategic planning. For more information or to register visit:
http://mrhphoenixworkshop.eventbrite.com
How healthy is your organization? Four Decisions ™ to Drive Business Growth
Three common problems faced by all business owners are how to grow their business, how to scale it and how to make it sustainable. This article is the first of a series on how strategy and execution can help business owners face these common challenges. Sandy Kolberg, Ph.D. is certified Gazelles International Coach who works with companies to create sustainable growth for business clients.
How healthy is your organization and what are you doing to make your business grow?
Verne Harnish, in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, says there are four interlocking principles that drive growth. They are: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash.
People: All businesses rely on people in some capacity. This includes the employees of the company, the customers or clients they serve and the shareholders of the business. Separately and collectively they create the harmony and flow of the business. Getting the right mix of people with the skills needed for the organization is always a challenge. When the right people are in the right seats doing the right jobs, the culture of the organization is solid and the business will run smoothly. Business growth happens easily when the sweet spot for the product and services is identified. If the customers or clients of the company are satisfied with the products and services the employees provide, the customers buy the products and services more often and refer the company more often. If the employees are doing their jobs and clients are satisfied purchasers of products and services, shareholders see the profitability and growth of the company and all are happy. While this seems a little simplistic, it doesn’t happen without the next principle, Strategy.
Strategy: Companies may have the best products or provide the best services, but without a vision and a plan, there is no growth. Strategy provides the direction the company will take over time to expand and drive profitability. Strategy revolves around the foundational elements of the business: its purpose for being, its core values, and the vision the owners have for the future. It involves a positioning of its products and services to a specific group of consumers. Business leaders and their teams meet at least annually to look at the business climate and decide the direction to take the business. They decide who is going to do what by when, what they will promise to accomplish, and how they will deliver it to their clients. Strategy is the vision of the future broken down into initiatives and driven by the critical numbers. Even with the best strategy, a business will not grow if its plan is not executed.
Execution: The best made plans do not happen without the interlocking mechanism of people with the strategy. A combination of economic factors and the ability of people to execute on the strategy makes the difference between business growth or not. That requires good habits, discipline and processes. The current economic situation demonstrates very clearly that strong, efficiently run businesses weather change easier than those run reactively. Activities that are measured and tracked are accomplished. The reactive leader sees each new business trend as the savior that will make the business run smoother and grow. The proactive leader, who sets the vision, develops the strategy and then executes on that strategy sets a constant path for people development and business growth. The result is a culture of accountability where people know what they are supposed to do, how they are supposed to do it and what the expected outcomes will be. By measuring and tracking, the business stays on track, makes money and is profitable.
Cash: Some companies in some business climates make money regardless of how well they are run. That may have been true in the economic bubble but is certainly the exception in today’s business climate. Cash is the oxygen that allows the company to run. Cash flow allows for choices and without a steady inflow of cash the company will gasp and fail. It is cash reserve that makes for expansion and growth.
When taken individually, each of the principles: people, strategy, execution and cash, are good business practices. A focus on any one of them will create a tighter more harmonious business. Together they interlock to create a business poised for growth and sustainability no matter what is going on in the economy.
Putting a growth plan in place can be a big task. It can be easier when a business coach works with the business owner to develop and execute the plan. If you are curious about how well your company has addressed these four crucial challenges you and up to nine other members of your organization can take the free Four Decisions Assessment through the author’s website. Visit: www.strategems-llc.com.
About the author: Sandy Kolberg brings more than 20 years of experience and solid business strategy to organizations she works with. Her firm, StrateGems, offers programs in strategic thinking and The Four Decisions ™ One Page Plan™ process to enable clients to develop and execute strategy, leadership and culture for their organizations. Sandy teaches and mentors in doctoral leadership programs, coaches executives, is a certified mediator, and a Certified Gazelles International Coach.