You are growing! The company is getting bigger, and business has been booming! What could be better? There isn’t a cloud in the sky and life is nothing but rainbows and butterflies. Okay, maybe that isn’t completely true. But, there are worse problems to have than a company that is growing a little too fast or being a little too busy, that’s for sure. Yet, like anything, exponential growth does come with its own unique set of challenges.
The solution, of course, isn’t to slow the demand for what you’re supplying. Instead, I ask you to take a look at what I’ve seen in my work at ADVISA to be the top issues a growing company faces and see if they apply to yours. You may have thought there was nothing to be done about it – simple growing pains. Or perhaps you haven’t slowed down long enough to give it any thought. Because of the reputation you’ve taken great care to build; the talent you’ve cultivated and courted; and all the vacations you don’t take anymore, I’d say it’s worth your time.
- Stop, Drop & Roll! – Everyone always runs around with their hair on fire. This is standard practice. Because the focus is always firefighting, there isn’t an opportunity to try out new ideas; handle what’s important, but not urgent; and look at the long-term direction of ….anything. Despite all the hours everyone is putting in, there’s a drop in effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. Solution: Leadership takes the time to pause. You have to get a handle on your long-term vision; if you have who and what you need to reach that destination; and what your obstacles are. Creating a strategic plan is a must.
- Who are you and what do you do here? – No one is clear on anyone’s role anymore. There is a lack of coordination between roles and departments. People don’t know or trust each other so the concept is, “I’ll do it myself if I want it done right.” This leads to a decrease in collaboration and increase in insecurity about my job stability. I perceive that no one knows what I do or appreciates my work. The impact of my work on the whole isn’t visible to me. My loyalty becomes more to my team or department than the company as a whole. Solution: Create an organizational design structure with clearly defined roles that align with where the organization wants to go, and ensure that key leadership communicates on a regular basis.
- Why aren’t we making more money? – The place is buzzing 16 hours a day and profits begin to flatten or (gasp!) decline. Why? Being reactive, as opposed to proactive, becomes expensive. Turnover is a big one. People burn out and despite all the time working, employee productivity is down and the cost of employee recruiting goes up. A lack of follow up is another. Plans are made, but things just aren’t getting done. There are managers everywhere but the really good managers are harder to point out. Checking items off the task list gets confused with managing. Employee development programs, training for managers, and trying out new ideas became “back burner” concepts to all of the firefighting. Solution: Once you decide where you want to go, and align your organizational chart to getting there, assess your talent. What is the performance of management like now? What is their potential? Compare the cost of increasing management skills of front-line management to the cost of not doing so. Think of it like car maintenance – it’s never convenient. But, you spent way too much on the car itself to risk having to replace it because you’re too busy, or it costs too much, to get the oil changed.
When we consider business, growth is good. In fact, it is great! There are simply new responsibilities that can come along with running a successful business. Take a moment to hit pause. Talk to ADVISA about how to assess the situation and properly assess whether you, and your people, are in alignment with where you want the company to go. Are you doing what it takes to get there? Let’s talk about how to make sure that you can continue to maintain what you worked so hard to achieve.
