Lock on to the 10 coordinates that drive your business
Are you working harder and harder at your business? Have you hit a plateau where all you see is a slippery slope of no growth on the backside? Do you really even know where you stand? “Circumstances (external forces) beyond our control” is the most common excuse used when a business begins to shake, falter or fail. Fact is; an overwhelming majority (80%) of the factors are well within the control of management. For whatever reason, “they” weren’t watching the important stuff; in fact many managers report they really don’t know what to watch. Michael Kaplan is a business coach extraordinaire and his GPS for Business™ System may be just the thing to help (or keep) your business out of the cyclical slump and allow you to work smarter in growing your business.
Here is a brief highlight for each of “10 coordinates that drive your business.” You can also take the free Organizational and Personal assessment at GPS for Business™. Mr. Kaplan will respond with your business and personal scores. He guarantees that you’ll find the feedback very helpful.
GPS for Business System:
Coordinate 1: Vision
If not the first, the single most important step in setting a course for your business is crystallizing a powerful Vision and then bringing everyone else to the same page. Think of it as your “North Star”—the purpose, the mission and the vision that can keep the company pointed in the right direction. By the way, there’s no expiration date and these days it is very healthy to check your Vision every 3 years!
Coordinate 2: Goals
Reaching goals takes focus and discipline—most of the time we’re working on our customer’s goals. But Goals can actually make the trip much more enjoyable, you just have to have a few of them.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”—Henry Ford
Coordinate 3: Sales & Marketing
Nothing happens in business if you can’t market and sell your product. Most managers don’t understand how marketing and selling are remarkably different. Marketing is the process of identifying an opportunity in the (large scale) marketplace and then matching a product or service to that broad opportunity at a profit. Selling is the facilitation of the buying process. It is much more personal, intimate and highly focused in a narrow space with little room for error.
Coordinate 4: Financials
Most small businesses fail due to the lack of financial understanding and controls. With bad numbers, or no numbers, you’re flying blind. Most leaders need an advisor who can help with this critical business activity.
Coordinate 5: People
You cannot achieve your vision without the proper organizational structure and great people who buy into your vision and your goals. Get the right people in the right seats and define those seats and responsibilities. Here’s a valuable article on the subject.
Coordinate 6: KPIs
Key performance indicators are necessary to cut through the personalities, the opinions and the big egos. When you manage your business through the right data you begin to feel the pulse of the organization and how to react to it properly. Take the subjective out of the equation. Watch your KPIs.
Coordinate 7: Issues
How an organization solves problems, overcomes obstacles and leapfrogs barriers can become a fierce competitive advantage. And when it doesn’t it can stand in your way of achieving your vision. Your success is in direct proportion to your ability to solve your issues.
Coordinate 8: Systems
McDonalds and Wendy’s both make hamburgers but they do it very differently. Your systems are how you do things. They help you create consistency in your organization so that it becomes more efficient, more effective, more manageable, more fun and more profitable. McDonalds and Wendy’s never take their eye off this coordinate.
Coordinate 9: Execution
Manufacturers are trained to keep their eyes glued on this coordinate. Execution is clearly where the rubber meets the road. What is oft missed however is having a discipline of accountability to the organization and its stated vision. Sadly only 5% of employees understand their companies’ strategy. Execution of your strategy begins and ends with leadership.
Coordinate 10: Growth
“You mean you have to watch this one too!” Growth, in either expansion or contraction, can kill a business. It has to be watched and managed, nursed or nurtured. One of the distinguishing differences between the GPS for Business System and other business growth systems is that GPS focuses on both personal and leadership skills.
Last Word
How many times have you heard it? A business owner complains about the government, the economy, a lousy partner or greedy bankers for the failure or stagnation of their business. The reality is that for most businesses, statistics tell a very different story. A story that’s important to understand so that you and your team know precisely how to navigate around the landmines that can blow up the business.
Professional business coaches like Mr. Kaplan can help your team train on the coordinates that matter. He would urge you to find a small, secure business roundtable—not of peers but of similar sized businesses—and then follow the coordinates. Select one led by a qualified facilitating coach and you will be soaring in no time.
HIT Solutions believes the more your business keeps up with important trends, the more you will improve your product, and improve your bottom line.
Leave me your comments below; share your thoughts.