Posted by Philip Rose on 01/04/09 - 11:12am, in Business.
Growth Tips for your Business
At this time in the economic cycle people often take their eye away from where they are going to look at costs. While this can often be a worthwhile activity it is essential that you also think to the future. You need to be flexible. Removing cost in one area today can often lead to knock on problems in other areas, so take time to look across the whole business and to the future when making decisions.
A key way to do this is to look at the success factors for your business and for companies in your industry. Ask yourself some questions and use the table attached to collate your answers:
1. What do businesses like yours need to do in order to be successful in your current market?
2. What are the critical factors (people, processes, plant etc) that will ensure success for you against that market need?
3. How important are these factors to you and the market now and in the future?
4. How well does your business perform against those factors today? (You can also take a look at how well you perform against the competition)
Next, put in place any actions that you think are needed to ensure you remain competitive against this market need.
What the market demands / needs Critical Success Factor Importance Now (H,M,L) Future Importance (H,M,L) Company Ability Competitor Ability Gap (Company to Competitor) Required Actions
Once you have assessed these factors you are then in a better position to understand the implications of any cost cutting exercise you may be considering.
One high street bank we have talked with recently has carried out this exercise and, even though the industry is suffering the impact of the ‘credit crunch’ they have realised that to be successful they need motivated, enthusiastic staff. So rather than cut their training budget they are now spending more on developing the individual employees and their teams as this is one of the critical success factors for the future.
So, if you’re looking forward to a summer break then why not take time to assess where your business is going so you can better understand the critical success factors before you make any cost cutting decisions.
Pain free Strategic Solutions from Malabar Consulting
One of our recent clients had this to say: “They helped develop our vision and strategic plan with my team over a three day workshop. The way they delivered their knowledge really motivated all of us. We developed a real, shared understanding of what we wanted to achieve combined with concrete action plans to get us to our business goals.”
If you think you may need help CALL Philip Rose at Malabar Consulting NOW on 01844 208802 or go to www.malabarconsulting.co.uk to arrange an initial, FREE, consultation. You never know where you might get to, but either way we know you will appreciate the information you gain.