Business Management

Keys for Success with your Business

What Any Organization Needs To Survive and Succeed




Essentially five things or factors are needed by any organization wanting to succeed:
• Key Managers  – those who facilitate operations
• Vision – a reason d’etre for organization
• Processes – activities which the people undertake to fulfill the business purpose
• Physical Resources – a place to work, the right equipment, finances to operate and the appropriate staffing.
• Customers – people outside the organization who are willing to pay money in return for the products and services the organization.

But it’s not just the existence of these five basic factors that enables success -it’s what you do with them. The 5 Key Success Factors Of Business

1. Managing and developing people:
 People today want some direction and structure, but they also want freedom and encouragement to develop their skills and knowledge. Effectively managing people requires balancing providing direction, structure, organization, with encourage personal growth, development and creativity. Effective managers do not manage all people the same, except for some basic rules. They manage each person according to what he or she needs as motivation to do their best.

2. Strategic focus
 In today’s rapidly changing world, it’s not just enough to have a purpose for existing. Leaders have to focus the organization’s resources on the greatest opportunities to fulfill the company’s vision. Priorities may change from time to time so it’s necessary for leaders to keep focused on the desired end results such as increased sales and profits.

3: Operations:
What the people in your organization do day in and day out to create value for customers, to earn or justify income, strongly determines whether you succeed or fail.  You can’t separate operations from strategic focus which gives direction, people which do the work, customers who pay the money and physical resources to do the work. Effective operations ensure that customers get exactly what they want at the right time, the right price and the right quality. Strategic focus is largely externally oriented, operations largely internally oriented. Both need to be totally in sync with each other – not something that happens automatically but rather requiring constant effort. This is why communication is the true lifeblood of a successful organization – a high flow of information so everyone and everything is connected. Easy to say, hard to do.

4. Resources and Cash Management
Finances, facilities and equipment are the big 3 physical resources. If you don’t have adequate financing you can’t start or sustain the business. A large focus for capital is providing adequate facilities and equipment for people to work in and with. Cash flow is king. It matters little what A/R total, it’s when the money is collected to use it to sustain the organization that matters. Failing to manage cash flow is the No. 1 reason for business failure.

5. Customer relations:
Customers generate money, so in many ways this is the most important success factor. Getting customers involves marketing – indeed this success factor includes all kinds of marketing and sales. The key to successful customer relations is to give them what they need, not just what you want to sell. It is key to develop customer loyalty and thus keep competitors away. Tracking competitor actions, analyzing changes in the market environment, and adapting accordingly will help the business succeed.

Use some of these principles to improve your opportunity of success.