Most of you probably said yes to this question. Who doesn’t want to be more successful? But while we all want to grow, the question is if we have the right tools at our disposal to support that growth.
I sat down with Josh Hurewitz, a successful business consultant located in Baltimore, to answer the question of what a business needs in order to grow. Josh focuses primarily on supporting companies in their efforts to assess their growth readiness, develop a growth strategy and execute a focused growth plan. Here’s what Josh advises:
Develop Your Growth Plan
Before you start to grow, you need a plan of where you want to be. You need to know how you can realistically get there and what internal changes you need to make in order to succeed.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself to get a feel for what your plan is:
1. Do you have a clear idea of what growth looks like?
Is it an increase in income? In sales? Is it more sales in a certain geographic location or population? Is it distributing your sales to more verticals? Is it hiring more staff or selling a new product?
As you can see, growth comes in a lot of shapes and sizes. Which one fits you?
2. What do your processes and workflow look like now? Where will they be affected when you grow? How do you plan to handle that?
To start with, outline your current systems. Draw a workflow diagram. It should look vaguely like this:
You can use Microsoft Visio or lucidchart.com to make your own diagram.
Now take a good look at your diagram and pinpoint what areas will be affected by growth. What changes can you make now to help handle the extra flow that you anticipate? Do you need to hire more people? Who do you need to hire? Can a change in systems help?
A business can only grow easily if its systems are set up for the anticipated growth. Growing while you’re using systems made for a smaller business model will lead to constant crises and “band-aid” reactions.
3. How will management react to growth? Will management resist change?
Are all of your managers qualified to perform in a more complex environment? If not, how can you help them become qualified? Or do you need to hire new managers?
Growth and change will not necessarily be healthy or happen unless everyone is cooperative. Management needs to be receptive to change. Yes, it’s much more comfortable to do the same things you’ve been doing for the past x number of years. But that’s not going to help you grow. Are you willing to be uncomfortable and learn new ways of doing things? The ability to adapt and to move on is integral to managing growth well.
Change The Way You Think
Changing your mentality can change the way you grow. Here are 5 common mentality changes that you can implement to help you achieve the growth you want.
1. Delegate
You may be really, really good at what you do, but you can’t do everything you’re doing and expect to do more as well. Chances are that there are a lot of things that other people can do that you don’t have to do, and with proper training, they can probably do almost as good of a job as you can (if not better). Don’t hold onto your responsibilities. Try to free up your time so that you can focus on things that really need your specific strengths.
2. Listen
Other people might have really good points or ideas. Listen to the culture and conversations in your workplace. Hear what others have to say. You might be surprised by the wisdom your employees have.
Is a product not selling? Ask your salespeople if they have any thoughts. Do you have a low rate of returning clients? Talk to your customer support team. Lots of people have really good ideas, and they know a lot about their field of expertise. Listening to them gives you the opportunity to really find out about your business.
3. Be open to change.
Something may have worked in the past, but isn’t working any more. Or you see a growth opportunity, but you can’t quite reach it with your current setup.
Can you take a step back and try something new and different? Limiting yourself by what you’re used to is kind of like building a wall and blocking out the rest of the world. You have to be able to change what needs to be changed in order to achieve success.
4. Fail
We all do it. Or at least we all should. It is completely unrealistic to expect that you will succeed 100% of the time in all your endeavors. And if you do, it means you’re not trying hard enough. Failing is a sign that you’re taking the risk of trying something new, and that is an important aspect of growing a healthy business.
5. Believe
Believe in yourself, in your plans, and in your crew. Many people don’t even dream big enough because they don’t believe it’s attainable. If you don’t believe you can do it, you won’t be able to do it. Treat yourself as your own business coach – how would you encourage yourself to believe in a higher level of success? If you believe you can do it, you’ll be able to do it.
Have any questions about your growth? Josh Hurewitz offers free initial consultations. You can reach him at Josh@GrowBridgeConsulting.com or (410) 598-0719.
I’d love to hear your personal growth story. Please comment and share your successes.