An organizations’ growth is many times associated to the size of the marketplace it exists in or has the potential to exist in. This does have a contributing factor as the total capacity cannot exceed the arena your business plays in. Businesses therefore expand geographically if the available market for their product or service nears saturation. This expansion is very visible and has a variety of associated growth challenges which go along with the expansion strategy.
Sometimes revenue growth and geographical expansion strategies are not the major limiting factor in an organizations’ desire to grow. A business can always with the right financial support expand into other physical areas or diversify into other product or service offerings. These need to be well planned and strategic moves rather than just jumping off and hoping the parachute opens.
The limit this week’s focus will be on has more to do with the growth and development of the business owner, leadership, and the people in the organization.
In assisting many organizations over the past 30+ years, from small start up to larger multiunit location businesses we have witnessed the strategic expansion through both organic revenue efforts as well as through merger/acquisition methods. Both have their strategic place in the growth of the business. Some of these have worked very well and others have had bouts of struggles during the transition periods. One of the key elements in these as well as other growth efforts has everything to do with the leaderships ability to grow at a rate better than the business itself.
When a business is started the primary person(s) behind the effort has passion, vision, and lots of energy. They trade off some level of security and consistency for hopefully short-term chaos which will then turn into a recurring fountain of profit. During these early stages, the business owner/leadership has for all intensive purposes bought themselves a job. The only difference is they get to fund the build and maybe get paid doing it.
Over time the business does take root and begins to stabilize. Staff is added to the mix along with products, services and a variety of process and procedures to accomplish the objectives at hand. While this is taking place the owner is well intrenched in working in the business. It is at this point the longterm growth of the business is directly dependent on the growth of the owner. If the owner or leadership stays in working on the business mode, then the organization will eventually stall or stabilize out at a certain plateau. For some this might be just fine and that is ok. If on the other hand additional growth and bigger outcomes are part of the vision, then owners’ growth is the largest barrier to growing to the next level.
This week review your vision for the business. Take a hard look at where the vision is focused and what growth or development of the leadership MUST take place in order to achieve the vision. It is not as intensive to come up with various annual goals for others as it is for yourself or the leadership of the business. As part of your 2023 objectives, consider what investment of energy, strategy and time will be given to the growth of the leadership. Helping to move them from working in the business to working on the growth of the business.
To enable such growth, JKL Associates has a Promise Culture methodology to bring your leadership to the next level of focus on top priorities. The organization can grow while the leadership working on the business can grow at a rate the business requires for future outcomes. Give a Promise Guide a call today to schedule a no obligation conversation – in Florida (407) 984-7246 OR Michigan (313) 527-7945.
Journey On!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS – EMAIL US AT PARTNERS@JKLASSOCIATES.COM OR CALL OUR OFFICES – MI AT (313) 527-7945 FL AT (407) 984-7246
Celebrating 30 years of Delivering on “Promises”
