Growing pains (continued)

Stepping up
To fulfil your potential you need a clear strategic vision backed by a solid business development process. Companies fail to step up, in most cases, because they cannot keep every part of their business moving forward in step.

They may focus on an aggressive sales plan but not give adequate attention to their delivery resources; or they may focus on the next product breakthrough without understanding which new market segments to target and how to do so. They may plan to move into a new area of business without being alive to the way in which their own existing contracts are being targeted by competitors.

Smaller companies can do many individual actions very well, but few of them can reach the right standards across the board, or ensure that everything stays aligned as they move forward. So when we deal with companies in this position, our aim is to help them play to their strengths while mitigating their weaknesses.

Sometimes it is possible to fill in the gaps in their own capability with input from outside; always it is essential to keep them strongly focused on techniques for focusing their limited resources and ensuring that they do not dissipate their energies by spreading themselves too thinly. Together, we try to understand:

• What is the most logical development path, enabling the company to build on established success while opening up distinctively new and different opportunities?
• What are the easiest entry points to new segments, enabling them to avoid areas of maximum competitor strength while targeting achievable quick wins?
• How can we ensure that the whole business, from design through business development to delivery, is perfectly aligned behind a simple, focused, agreed strategic effort?
• How can we stop people from following unnecessary diversions of the kind that a small business just can’t afford?
• How can we jointly develop a highly efficient repeatable approach, ensuring that early success drives incremental growth without unacceptably high levels of resourcing?
• What is the best way of managing absolutely consistent delivery standards as market success puts existing processes under pressure?

We remind our clients that the key to long-term growth is not just the next good idea, but a stable, repeatable method for making it work in practice. As we often say to them, it’s not just about the best opportunity: it’s about the best opportunity for you, and that means being honest with yourselves about who you are, what you do best (and worst!) and where you really want to go next.

Growth is at the heart of every corporate strategy, and remains a major concern of every kind of enterprise. In the next couple of months, I’m going to look at how the problems of securing long-term growth affect the largest and most complex businesses, as well.

To discuss these issues in greater depth…

> e simon.harries@vectorassociates.co.uk
> t +44 7802 203 304

> back to part 1