Everyone in business wants to grow. But that doesn’t mean they will grow, because wanting is not doing.
If you are not growing, you are declining. There is no remaining the same. Life just doesn’t work that way.
Verne Harnish, author of "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits" and "Scaling Up," discovered the very essence of success. This essence was further defined in Jeff Olson’s "The Slight Edge." The difference between success and failure is the consistent, daily application of doing the right things, as insignificant as they may seem in the moment, but that will compound over time to produce extraordinary results.
I know, kind of boring. No silver bullet. No quantum leap. No overnight success. But applied consistently over time, this discipline eventually becomes the difference between success and failure.
In business, this process starts with focusing on the four decisions every growth company must get right: people, strategy, execution, and cash. Get the right people on the bus and the wrong ones off, working on a written and focused strategy, executing flawlessly, and generating profit and cash, and you will enjoy success beyond your wildest dreams.
The most successful companies embody three underlying habits to develop and improve these four decisions.
- Priorities: Does the organization have the Top 5 priorities for the year and the quarter? Does everyone in the organization have their own handful of priorities that align with the company’s priorities?
- Data: Does the organization have sufficient data on a daily and weekly basis to provide insight into how the organization is running and what the market is demanding? Does everyone in the organization have at least one key daily or weekly metric driving his or her performance?
- Rhythm: Does the organization have an effective rhythm of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual meetings to maintain alignment and drive accountability? Are the meetings well run and useful?
But to make any of this happen, you have to start. You have to do. You can’t just hope, or think, or wish good things to happen. You have to "do."
Come join other business owners and their leadership teams at our Scaling Up Workshop on Tuesday, April 12, and learn about each of these critical decisions and how to implement them in your company. The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (lunch included) at Compass Point Consulting in Bethlehem.
See the attached flyer to sign up and for more information. Join the over 20,000 executives and their leadership teams worldwide who have attended the Scaling Up Workshop to learn proven tools and strategies to scale up smarter.
Tom Garrity is the Managing Partner of Compass Point Consulting, Concannon Miller's business consulting partner. If you would like more information on this topic, Tom can be reached at 610‐336‐0514 or tgarrity@compasspt.com.
