How do you Manage Growth?

When managing growth there are critical factors to consider.



1. Plan. Without a plan success may be a challenge. Planning will include a regular review of all operations, competition, financial results, and new technologies.
2. Adapt. Keep flexibility in the organization to be positioned to take advantage of strategic growth opportunities.
3. Challenge. Owners involved in managing growth need to know what questions to ask, when and how. Motivate managers to have an “entrepreneurial “approach and reward those who enhance growth.
4. Share. Management must communicate the growth vision so team members understand the role, direction and philosophy of the business.
These are some elements of managing growth and there are others depending on the nature and size of the business. Building a solid foundation and showing leadership are key responsibilities for owners to assume as they provide the resources and direction needed to implement changes as the business grows.
These are a few of my thought. Please let me know what you think.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Leadership

How Do your Business Leadership Skills Measure Up?

Successful businesses, almost by definition, are led by individuals with strong leadership skills. Among strong leaders you will find values that permit them to convince others that their vision is worth following. Traits found include:

1.     Clear communications

A clear vision is essential but communication of that vision is paramount. Providing employees with a clear plan gets everybody working on the same page. Poor communication may lead to missed opportunities.

2.     Delegate for Growth

Don’t let ego get in the way of delegating and allowing employees to develop and grow. The leader does not need nor should the leader want to “do it all”. Delegating, sharing, allowing contributions from others contributes to growth and excitement that often generates new ideas. 

3.     Think Strategically

A good idea and boundless energy is not enough to succeed. Leaders develop strong plans that outline where you expect the business to be in 5 years and then work with the team to execute the plan. 

 

4.     Hire and Retain top Talent

Strong leaders have a talented management team surrounding them and when treated fairly they will remain loyal. Continuity of management is an important element to consistent growth and strong leaders seek top talent for key management roles.

How do you measure up? Let me know your thoughts.

Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Implementing organizational Change

Implementing organizational change effectively requires changing employees attitudes and behavior from a current state to a new level of behavior with a minimum of cost in terms of performance and morale.
Here a few ideas on implementation to mitigate disruption to the business.
1. Understand the issues. Identify the problems, prioritize and deal with the most important, and clearly define the solution or change needed.

2. Communicate. Conveying the vision of the intended structure to all employees is critical. Make the entire team part of the process to optimize success. A clearly structured plan must be developed to ensure employees see the intended path forward. Maintain stability and retain the overall mission or key personnel to reduce anxiety within the organization.

3. Implement carefully. Manage the transition by allocating appropriate resources and appoint a key person with responsibility for the change process. Key managers must lead by sharing the goals and vision and they must serve as role models. Take small steps initially to achieve success and set the stage for larger more important steps in the plan.
Ultimately as an organization grows and matures change becomes necessary. The methodology used by the organization to implement the change will determine the level of disruption to employees and to productivity.
Plan carefully, choose the path ahead wisely.

Those are my thoughts; I look forward to your comments.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Creating value in the business

Value of a business is not just the price paid to purchase it or what it might sell for. Different values can be created depending on operational factors.
Here are a few factors that can influence the value of your business whether you are selling or not.


1. Performance
Value will be more dependent on future projections than past performance. History helps set the base but future plans are of more value. Cash flow is the most important factor. Revenue is secondary but a company with higher cash flow is more highly valued. Cash Flow drives value more than Profits.
Other factors affecting performance will include customer loyalty, brand strengths, industry trends, and capacity of the facility used.
2. Leverage
Value of the business can be influenced by financial leverage that can be generated. A business with a high asset base may have greater borrowing capacity or credit capacity.  This will enhance value as it may facilitate financing growth. Assets of the business are an important factor in determining value. State of the art equipment is important as it puts the position of a new buyer not having to further invest upon acquisition and at the same time it allows the seller to expect a higher selling price.
3. ROI
A buyer looks at value in the context of expected Return on Investment. The higher the expected ROI, the lower the business has value. A number of conditions can influence the expected ROI including strength of the balance sheet and financial history, strength of the management team, quality of the product line and distribution, and property values.

4. Exit Strategy
Value of the business will be influenced by the circumstances of the intended sale. If urgency is involved because of death, illness or pending retirement of the owner the value could be depressed. If a longer time horizon is in play and the owner can play a role in financing the purchase through a vendor take back there me be a positive influence on value.
These are some of my thoughts on factors influencing business value.

Please let me know your comments.
Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com