Companies that only
prosper when their economy
is on an uptick will struggle
when their industry matures or declines.
Successful business leaders know that what got them to where they are
today won’t get them to a higher level. They
believe that they must continually develop key aspect(s) of their business in
order to thrive.
You
may be granted a temporary visit to the next level, but unless you hire and/or
train the right people and invest in processes that foster growth, efficiency
and consistency, you will most likely slip back to the prior level. Staying power requires a valid growth
strategy and a strong desire to prevent slippage.
Consider concentration
and/or diversification growth strategies to guide your decisions.
Vertical and Horizontal
Growth
Grow
horizontally by expanding the product-market matrix through internal
development and through acquisitions and
alliances.
Achieve
vertical growth by performing function[s] that were previously provided by
suppliers.
Growth through Diversification
Concentric
diversification leverages a competitive advantage
to secure a strategic position in new categories. Examples include healthcare firms diversifying into the wellness industry and
telecom companies diversifying into the Internet services industry.
Financial
and risk reduction needs spawn conglomerate diversification that expands a
company into unrelated categories. For example, Disney diversified from movies into theme parks.
Quantum Physics Concepts Can Guide
Your Business Leap
In physics a quantum leap is a significant increase in the energy level of an
electron that propels it to a higher orbit. There is no in-between state, so an electron can never exist between allowed
orbits. When an electron successfully leaps
to another level, it has the power to remain there, but if it doesn’t achieve
the next allowed orbit, it will fall back to its original state.
This analogy applies to leaders who want to elevate
some aspect of their business to a higher level of excellence. They need to establish a goal, get there and
stay there. An expanded
leadership style will most likely be required.
Can the current leaders evolve or does the organization need to recruit
new leaders from within or externally? Before
you can strive for excellence, you have to “want to”. In fact, “need to” isn’t enough. You can be
pressured to do something or learn something or know that something is the
right thing to do, but if you don’t want to do it, you won’t make it happen.
Can you translate this thought into a methodology for
elevating some aspect of your business to a noticeably higher steady
state? An integrated marketing, sales
and support environment will drive the need to elevate internal operational
process in order to be able to deliver on your brand promise and to achieve customer
satisfaction, revenue, productivity, market share and profitability goals. If you make the necessary changes to reach
the next level, this will become your steady state. Otherwise, results will revert back to their
original state and maybe even lower.
