Summary: The 4 keys to growth, which will make your business evolve efficiently, quickly and without drama.
1.Work team
- How to integrate the best work team, to have the right people on board.
2.Strategy
- Strategic thinking, the guide that will give clarity to the right people to do the right things.
3. Execution
- How to put a good plan into practice, giving rhythm and speed to the execution so that the right people are doing the right things, at the right speed.
4. Cash
- How to accelerate the oxygen that your business needs to operate.
How to Grow in This Stage of the Post Pandemic
If we could explain 2020 and 2021 in personal, work and business matters, everything would be summed up in one word: PANDEMIC, followed by a long speech in which we recounted how we were benefited or affected in all aspects of our lives. Now, the challenge of growing or simply making our businesses survive has been a task that implies tripling our efforts.
For this reason, we want to share with you this business strategy that has given an average annual growth of more than 20% to more than 40,000 companies around the world. A methodology made for companies with less than 5 years, that do not want to remain in the category of “small companies”, those that want to have a scalable business and which, during this blog, we will call ‘mice’.
The Scaling Up Methodology was designed by Daniel Marcos and Verne Harnish, entrepreneurs for more than 20 years and founders of the “Entrepreneur Organization”. In their book, Scaling Up, they explain in detail how to grow your business efficiently, quickly, and without so much drama. His book became the best seller on Amazon in 2016 and has helped thousands of companies around the world, thus transforming ‘mice’ into Gazelles.
The 4 keys in the Strategy of your Business:
There are four decisions in which no entrepreneur can be wrong:
1. Work team
“If you ask 10 employees what their company’s vision and action plan is for this year or next, would they tell you? Or would you get 10 different answers?”
Your collaborators have been, are and will always be the most important asset for your company. It is important:
- Have a committed team motivated
- Capable
- That each one has skills that complement each other
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You know you have the right work team because everyone does their job properly and you have time to focus on growing the company instead of supervising operational tasks.
And above all: an aligned team, where everyone is aware of the strategies and objectives
But, how to achieve a good team in times of pandemic?
You know you have the right work team because everyone does their job properly and you have time to focus on growing the company instead of supervising operational tasks.
But, how to achieve a good team in times of pandemic?
We would never have imagined seeing ourselves in a reality in which remote work is a daily challenge. A reality for which we were not prepared. However, we realize that in most cases the home office is possible and, despite the loss of labor relations or lack of communication, both companies and employees have benefited. It is important to adapt to the change so that the mouse continues to run:
- Give your staff the necessary equipment to work
- Have small daily meetings to review pending
- Provides constant training tools
- Establish working hours, delivery time and pace of execution
- Promotes coexistence and communication between them through distance
2.Estrategia
“A good plan now is better than a great plan too late”
Every project requires a strategy to be carried out, otherwise everyone will follow a plan without results and seeing how the competition surpasses them. When the right strategy is found, the increase in income occurs automatically.
The appropriate strategy must generate income and growth, for this the Scaling Up Methodology suggests dividing the process into two parts:
Every project requires a strategy to be carried out, otherwise everyone will follow a plan without results and seeing how the competition surpasses them. When the right strategy is found, the increase in income occurs automatically.
The appropriate strategy must generate income and growth, for this the Scaling Up Methodology suggests dividing the process into two parts:
Verne Harnish
Every project requires a strategy to be carried out, otherwise everyone will follow a plan without results and seeing how the competition surpasses them. When the right strategy is found, the increase in income occurs automatically.
The appropriate strategy must generate income and growth, for this the Scaling Up Methodology suggests dividing the process into two parts:
-
“Strategic Thinking”: Develop a differentiating element for your business.
Eg Dominos Pizza: free pizza if your order does not arrive in 30 min.
To achieve this, we suggest the 7 layers of the strategy:
The words that belong to you: Own the mental space that your brand or product represents: Volvo equals safety, if you think of chicken broth you think of Swiss Knorr. Use search engines and Google Adwords campaigns to position your product with keywords.
Territory and brand promises:
Who and where are your customers?
What are you really selling?
Mcdonald’s: speed, consistency and fun
What are your 3 brand promises?
How do you know if you are delivering on your brand promises?
The brand promise guarantee: “if you are not satisfied, the service is free”
The strategy in a sentence: do not try to please everyone, the group of clients you are targeting is enough.
Apple’s “one-sentence strategy” has been its “closed architecture.”
Differentiating activities: make sure that no one can imitate your differentiating value.
The X factor: what is the bottleneck in your company?
Utility per X: Define the KPI’s that will help you measure progress.
“Planning the execution”: The strategic plan of a page or OPSP (One-Page Strategic Plan), can help you align your work team and plan a good execution. With this technique Virtual Technology Corporation exceeded its sales goal by $1.4 million, ICC/Decision Services saved 160 hours per work week among 14 employees.
The one page strategic plan requires you to answer 7 basic questions:
Who?
That?
When?
Where?
As?
Because?
Should we or shouldn’t we?
We share here the template to make your one-page strategic plan
3. Execution
A good execution brings: gains and time. The gazelles must move in the right direction, so if we have a good strategy (although you always have to be prepared for the drawbacks) it is more likely that the execution will be carried out correctly.
The 3 disciplines of Scaling Up
Priorities: it is important to have an order in the activities of the entire team.
Metrics: “If it can’t be measured, it’s useless.” Each of the actions we carry out must have clear objectives and therefore metrics that guide us in the progress and next steps.
Meeting rhythm: make sure that the whole team is prepared for work meetings and that they are really effective. Do not turn into a meeting, what could be treated in an email or text message.
4. Cash
How long does it take for your business to recover every penny spent?
In the end, money is what will make our company continue to operate or that all the effort has been in vain. Cash flow allows you to pay employees, generate profit, invest in new products, technology, strategy, ideas, grow and continue the business. If all the previous steps have been carried out correctly, you will be in the gazelles team.
With these four steps, you will see how the results grow from the first quarter and your company scales effectively. If you need a little or a lot of guidance during this process, contact us! We are a Marketing and Sales Consulting team, focused on this and other methodologies with which we have helped small and medium-sized companies to unleash their growth potential.
