Has your business stalled out on the path toward your vision? What have you failed to consider? What questions do you need to answer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re a business leader, you’re concerned about your company’s growth\u2014regardless of the phase of growth it’s in. We’ve put together 13 exercises containing a total of 44 questions to ask about company growth that are based on concepts in Built to Last<\/span>, The E-Myth<\/a> Revisited, Traction<\/em>, and Zero to One<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on for these practical exercises you can do on your own or with your managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In The E-Myth Revisited<\/a><\/em>, Michael E. Gerber writes that typical small businesses go through three phases: infancy, adolescence, and maturity. In infancy, the owner does all the technical work. Many fail at this point due to overwork. Those that survive may hire help in adolescence, but problems arise as the owner struggles to manage. At the adolescence crisis point, owners must develop business knowledge and leadership skills or shrink, crash, or barely survive. The most successful companies have business knowledge and an entrepreneurial mindset<\/a> from the start. Owners must move beyond a technician role and learn new skills or their business will likely fail before reaching maturity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few questions to ask about company growth with these three phases in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gerber explains that your business objective is a clear statement of what you want your business to look like when it has fully evolved and what you want it to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traction<\/a><\/em> offers a helping hand for beginning entrepreneurs and others whose businesses are stuck at a point where hard work and determination are no longer enough for them to survive and grow. Business owner and consultant Gino Wickman explains how to structure your business using his Entrepreneurial Operating System<\/a> to remove typical frustrations so it regains momentum, it runs seamlessly, and you don\u2019t get mired in details. The system is based on practical experience, not theory. Numerous tools and templates lead business owners step by step through processes to create a structure and core focus that strengthen and reenergize their organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wickman contends that your business should be guided by a vision, which is based on your core values<\/a>; a core focus or purpose; a marketing plan; 10-year, three-year, and one-year goals; and 90-day priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wickman writes that many businesses become stuck or fail because their owners can\u2019t let go of control<\/a>, build a trusted leadership team, delegate, and systematize their business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your business has a few key processes that keep it functioning. Wickman asserts that identifying, documenting, and ensuring that everyone follows your key processes consistently makes your business more efficient and scalable<\/a>. Here are a few questions to ask about company growth in relation to processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zero to One<\/a><\/em> is entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel\u2019s unconventional advice for technology startups. Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, argues that technology has stagnated. Most new companies improve incrementally on existing products, but Thiel argues that the most valuable and game-changing startups create something new. They move the world from zero<\/em> to one<\/em>. Creating new things is not only the best path to profits\u2014it\u2019s also the only path for human progress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thiel argues that, to succeed, a company must have solid answers to the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thiel asserts that how your company chooses and expands its markets is critical to its success. You should target a small niche that you can dominate and then slowly expand to related markets and eventually larger markets while maintaining monopoly control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some questions to ask about company growth in relation to the market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many enterprises come and go, but visionary companies<\/a> endure for generations. These companies are the gold standard in their respective industries, remaining prosperous throughout many decades and at the hands of many different leaders. Beyond attaining financial success<\/a>, they\u2019ve also become household names, ingraining themselves into our collective psyche\u2014it\u2019s hard to imagine a world without them or their products, from Band-Aids to Post-it Notes to Mickey Mouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, what’s the key to these companies\u2019 longevity and tremendous success? Bestselling author Jim Collins and Stanford professor Jerry I. Porras embarked on a six-year research project to answer this question. In Built to Last<\/a><\/em>, they share the fruits of their research, laying out the important concepts behind enduring success and providing practical advice for building a company that lasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact that visionary companies don\u2019t rely on one great idea or one superstar CEO represents one of their distinguishing characteristics. Rather than focusing on \u201ctime telling,\u201d they focus on \u201cclock building.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clock building seems like a daunting task, so start small by determining how processes you\u2019re already <\/em>involved in can continue to work without you. Here are a few questions to ask about company growth in relation to your role:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Built to Last<\/em> research revealed that, far from being overly cautious, visionary companies in fact set risky, progress-stimulating goals\u2014what Collins and Porras have coined Big Hairy Audacious Goals<\/a> (or BHAGs, pronounced bee-hags<\/em>). BHAGs are goals that take you out of your comfort zone and require a strong commitment to see them through. They typically take 10 to 30 years to achieve and only have a 50- to 70-percent probability of success, but you should be able to look at them and believe that you can achieve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A BHAG<\/a> inspires people, creates momentum, and stimulates progress. If you don\u2019t have a BHAG, now is the time to set one. Here’s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins and Porras explain that, rather than turning employees into unthinking robots, visionary companies empower them to think for themselves, innovate, and make bold moves\u2014all while strongly adhering to the core philosophy. When they see that employees embody what the company is all about, visionary companies give them the wings to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visionary companies have systems and methods to stimulate evolutionary progress. Here are several questions to ask about company growth in relation to innovation and experimentation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins and Porras write that, to ensure continuity, visionary companies have a leadership loop, which has three essential elements: They develop leaders and come up with a succession plan, they have a list of strong internal candidates, and they ensure continuous excellent leadership from within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These questions to ask about company growth will help you make sure your company (or department) has capable people ready to take your place and maintain the business’s momentum:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collins and Porras say that your vision is a combination of a strong core philosophy and the type of progress you want for your company. So, having a clear vision can<\/em> be useful. But, it\u2019s only the first step. The real work is in bringing the vision to life. Visionary companies try to bring their vision to life by incorporating their core philosophy into everything they do, from setting audacious goals to building an elite corporate culture, to evolving continuously and developing generations of leaders. Most importantly, visionary companies make sure their methods of maintaining the core and stimulating progress are aligned with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visionary companies don\u2019t come up with random ways to preserve their core and stimulate progress. They make sure every element they introduce is aligned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Collins and Porras, visionary companies recognize that simply aiming to beat their competitors puts a cap on their goals; once they beat the competition<\/a>, they can drift into contentment. But, visionary companies know that contentment is one step away from complacency, which could then lead to decline. So, visionary companies are always on a quest for continuous improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\nExercise 1: Assess Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 2: Your Business Objective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 3: What\u2019s Your Vision?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 4: Is Your Business Stuck?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 5: Document Your Processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 6: Startup Success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 7: Monopoly Profits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 8: Shift From Time Telling to Clock Building<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 9: Define Your BHAG<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 10: Create an Environment for Progress <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 11: Create a Leadership Continuity Loop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 12: Seek Alignment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 13: Keep Improving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n