Revisiting the Basics of Growth and Profitability
Common sense is something successful business owners and managers have in generous supply. Still, revisiting basic principles of growth and profitability can be helpful. Here's a quartet we believe are especially important:1) Less is more. Find a promising and productive market niche, then fill it. Too many companies waste time, money and other resources attempting to win the business of a "world" of potential customers. Targeting a more limited and manageable market with your products and/or services is almost always a more successful growth-oriented strategy. 2) If bigger, then better. When specific growth opportunities present themselves, such as merging with another company or opening branch locations, honor the maxim that "two plus two equals five." In other words, be as certain as possible that the new configuration will be greater than the sum of its parts, so that bigger really will be better. 3) Prefer speed over size. As a rule of corporate thumb, really large companies are slow to change. One key advantage of being a "lean and mean" smaller firm is the ability to recognize the need for a change and implement it much more rapidly. For instance, among the best ways to stimulate business growth is to identify emerging markets; then pursue them quickly - backed by research and other due diligence, of course. 4) Share the wealth. Giving your employees a stake in the enterprise inspires hands-on commitment to the company as a whole and to their individual positions. As prime examples, bonus programs and profit sharing typically engender a strong sense of ownership that praise and plaques, by themselves, fail to create. |