7 Reminders for Sustainable Business Growth
- Ensure your strategy, culture and operating model are aligned.
- Three keys to business success are engaged people, documented systems and enabling technology.
- Ignore the people side of change and your people will ignore the change.
- Keep solving problems for key groups of people and your business will thrive and grow.
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No Profits + No Cash = No Business.
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Grow yourself and your people and you'll grow your business.
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Your business is a direct reflection of it's leaders, not just what they say, but what they do.
Adopt the 3R + A Approach to Personal & Business Growth
Becoming the best version of myself is a commitment I made a few decades ago, which has translated into a commitment to help others do the same. Therefore, I’m sharing a few of my tools to personal and business growth. Join me and let’s take a personal growth journey together.
I’m certain that most of us would not argue that learning from experience is an invaluable tool. The process of growth is more easily achieved when we’re able to learn from experiences; both our own and that of others. It is said "that a people who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes from the past". A truth to which we must heed. I’ve seen the pain that our inability or ignorance has caused people, organizations as well as nation states.
The process is first in taking the time to seek out, document the facts and then reflect on the lessons to be learned from these past experiences. This may be at a personal, family, organization, community, national, regional or global level. Our ability to make steady progress and not repeat past mistakes comes from a deliberate process. A process that requires clear thought, honest evaluation, practical application and consistent adjustments. This continues to be a personal challenge as I seek to have this process become a lifelong habit, applied daily in my own life and business.
As we begin this process, ask yourself these questions:
- Are you and your business growing at the level and pace you should?
- What is your own philosophy for personal and business growth and what do you need to change?
Kaizen is the Japanese word for never ending improvement, the process of constantly evaluating and adjusting, the process of consistent innovation. Let this be part of our personal philosophy for growth.
As you review, let me encourage you to develop a tool for personal and business growth.
Here is 3R + A approach, that can be used as a guide:
- Review – take stock of where you are against your set goals. Just the facts. Ask the question did I accomplish the goals and objectives I've set and to what extent?
- Reflect – reflect on what has gone well and what needs to change. Be honest with yourself and others. Dig into the reason for the lack of achievement. If you've been successful, then what did you do to achieve that success?
- Record – Make a note to ensure the changes are permanent and forms part of a personal or business process/system
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Adjust – Be deliberate about changing what needs to change and reinforcing what needs to be maintained. Ensure it's not just a mental adjustment and ensure it's documented and agreed to be a integrated part of your operating system.
Take time over the next few days to review your week, month, year to date in areas of your life and business.
Legacy Lessons From Usain Bolt
- Find out what you’re passionate about, and what will add value to others. Usain brought a sense of joy and pride to the world of athletics.
- Be disciplined and put in the work required to be the best you can be in your chosen field. Usain put in the work even when he did not feel like doing it. Five days of track work and two days of strength training per week.
- Live for more than yourself. Usain’s last year was less for him and more for his fans.
- Enjoy the process and be pleasant and radiant in pursuing your passion. His smile, dance, disposition and sense of fun, brought life to every event in which he participated.
- Have clear goals, track them, purse them with all your strength and know when it’s time to say goodbye. Usain gave his all and achieved what no other human has done. He also knew when his time came to say goodbye and the world cried, laughed and celebrated with him.
While we may not impact the four corners of the globe like Usain did, there are people who our life needs to touch. There are people to whom you can bring as much joy and people whose lives will be greatly enhanced by you pursing and living the purpose for which you were created.
A Few More Tips
Engagement
In helping you to make the best of your people, think about how you engage your key people this week. How can you encourage and motivate them? I would suggest take at least 5 minutes per person between today and tomorrow speak to each of them, asking them how they're doing, what is key for them to accomplish this week and how you can help them best.
Team
I've learned that "One of Us is not as effective as All of Us." This means that our organizations will not be as effective without the proper engagement and improvement of our people. Don't pay lip service to your people being your most valuable resource and use our ASK (Attitude, Skills, Knowledge) model to define the areas for individual improvement required. Be deliberate and take the time to engage and grow your people this week. Look at your key contributors and ask, what Behaviors do they need to improve, What skills do they need to learn and what do they need to Know? Decide, who you will commit to help improve this week and just do it.
Clarity
I’ve learned that Clarity is the first step to achievement, so be clear on what you want to achieve over the next three months. What are your areas of focus in terms of customer satisfaction & fulfillment, Revenue, cost and cash improvements, process / system documentation and enhancements, strategy execution, personal growth, team engagement & development, product or service enhancements / new product development. Don’t just Think it, Ink it and Act on it.
Leadership
Do you ascribe the Responsibility of Leadership to the person with the title or position? Do you see yourself as a leader? Well in case no one has told you; You are ! Now your first responsibility is leading yourself. When I think of a leadership, I see the essential requirement to model the way and to do that you must be clear on your guiding principle. What I call you core or centre. Your non-negotiables; those principles to which you hold true and will live by. To achieve this, you must first define them, so ask yourself; What are my core values, My central guiding principles that I live and model daily? What are the values of my organization and am I living them daily? Define and live by these principles this week. Take stock daily to check you're modeling the way.
Are You Ready To Take Things To The Next Level?
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