Why is this?
It may be due in part to external factors like market
turn-down, a worsening economy or your product starts to lose ground to
competitors. Perhaps a change of staff
has not produced employees who are as effective as the original small team.
Often, however, the answer is much simpler than that. Take a look in the mirror! The limiting factor for most businesses is
the time, attention or knowledge of the person or group of people running
it. The owners may grow the business for
many years just by working hard, for long hours, but there comes a point where
every new thing they have to do means that something they used to do no longer
gets done. Even if the business has
employed more staff, overall productivity is going down.
Managing a business and leading people is difficult to do
well and it is unwise to try to practise it through trial and error. People often say, “I’ll pick it up as I go
along” – and the vast number of those businesses struggle. This is not a coincidence – these facts are
related.
What can you do about it?
Start by recognising the limiting beliefs that are holding
you back – your mind-set - and replace them with enabling beliefs.
Take a look at the purpose: your vision of where you want to
go, how you want to get there, what you believe in, what you value and what you
do. What is your strategy for explaining
what is special about your product and how it is a better proposition for your
chosen market?
Systemisation: this makes your business efficient,
repeatable, resilient, reliable – and scalable.
Finally, think about engagement. People are much easier to manage when they
are committed to the cause. They are
also much more productive. An engaged
workforce is aligned with the organisation’s purpose, will feel proud to be
part of a winning team and teamwork will come naturally to them as a result.
These elements are, of course, interdependent. Each enables the other three, and in turn is
enabled by them. To learn more, book a
place on our seminar in June.
