Posts tagged ‘Growth Opportunities’

This phrase sums up my philosophy of business. You cannot Grow by cutting people, investment or other expenses. The cutting concept is only valid for improving profitability, but does nothing for the growth engine. Growth is the driving force for high energy and dynamic cultural difference.

If you need proof – McGraw-Hill did some research about companies that continued to invest in people and other investments during a recession. The results show that “companies that invested in themselves and their people during the 1981-1982 recession had 29% MORE BUSINESS the next year.”

So what does this mean to you? It means this is a time to invest in development of people to improve their knowledge and experience; to improve your processes to be more effective and to invest in better technology to lower costs using more efficiency and effective systems.

If you need another reason for investing in people,processes and systems now – here you go. The most important reason is to show confidence in the economy and the future. When people see the investments, they will belief that it is only a matter of time and things will be cooking again. Optimism is an key emotion needed to get our economy started and your people control the use of this emotion. Show your faith in your people and watch them show it to your customers. Then things will pick up in a positive way.

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Posted by Voss Graham on April 1, 2009 at 5:03 am under Leadership.
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Using a race car driving analogy – it’s time to accelerate out of the curve (down turn for business issues) or we will create more problems for the economy. Okay, so what do I mean by this statement? It means put some control back into the equation.

To use the knowledge of the racing drivers, they learn early that the key to maintaining control of their cars in high speed turns is to accelerate into the turn and through the curve. This power surge keeps the car in an invisible groove and the driver maintains control. No spinning out of control – which happens when you slow down in a curve. The lost of traction and speed allows the car to slip on anything in its path through the turn.

We can use this knowledge to keep our economy, our business or our sales career moving in the right direction even during this economic down turn. Accelerate your pace regarding decisions and actions taken. The people that think they are playing it safe by decelerating are already losing control. They are laying off people, eliminating essential staff members (knowledge and experience), eliminating developmental activities and taking no risks with change or innovation.

Stupid is as Stupid does! To paraphrase Forrest Gump.

Make a commitment to accelerate out of the curve starting today. Join the ranks of the confident that believe we have choices. The future can get brighter if we take control of our short term activities. Make things happen at a faster pace. Take a chance on development so your people can accelerate their successes. You can make a difference. Especially if people just say “no” to the statusquo.

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Posted by Voss Graham on February 6, 2009 at 8:31 am under Leadership.
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The second key in the world of creating a steady, consistent and profitable growth organization is Technology. Old technology does not count. The key word with technology is emerging. New and cutting edge technology is the focus for breakthroughs in productivity and growth. Examples are numerous as to what technology has done to and for organizations.

Some old technology examples that created productivity increases include things like telephone systems
(now referred to as communication systems due to complex coordination of technology.) which reduced the need for operators; fax machines that allow for immediate transfer of people documents including invoices; personal computers on desktops leading to easier creation of documents and spreadsheets allowing for instant analysis of data point changes due to strategy or investments. Databases and information became portable for sales people, managers and team members.

So what is emergent technology and how does it impact growth opportunities? Continue reading ‘Technology – the Second Key to Growth’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on January 29, 2009 at 4:19 am under Strategy.
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Leadership is the first step on the pathway of steady, consistent and profitable growth. The leadership of an organization is the most critical step. In my opinion, it is the starting point to attain a growth orientation. There are several ways leadership impacts the growth opportunities of an organization. Yet, the operative descriptor is Entrepreneurial Leadership.

There are leaders and then there are entrepreneurial leaders! The difference is significant in both actions and results. The mistake some people make when thinking about entrepreneurial leaders is limiting them to only small companies. An example would be Jack Welch when he was leading GE. He was an entrepreneurial leader of a top 10 organization. Let me explain what I mean… Continue reading ‘Leadership – the First Step to Growth’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on January 28, 2009 at 4:33 am under Leadership, Uncategorized.
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During these time of downturn, it is not acceptable to stop thinking and acting on growth opportunities. The time is ripe for Growth. And, Growth Opportunities are all around us. It is a time to focus on the three things that create steady, consistent and profitable growth. There are three keys to these type of growth.

  1. Leadership – the ability to focus on the future and relate it to present day action plans; clarify the vision with everyone in the organization, motivate a culture for growth and make the right (and tough) decisions to ensure the success of the whole.
  2. Technology – the ability to maximize productivity; to have reporting systems that alert you to potential issues; to allow people to use their minds for higher level results; and to create a customer experience that exceeds all expectations of service and contact.
  3. Sales & Marketing – the ability to coordinate two diverse units into one representing the best interests of the company and the customer; to develop an ongoing lead generation system; to sell using the same message or intent across the company; and enable the company to grow faster than the competition – as well as helping their customers grow.

Each of these three keys for growth will need to be discussed individually. Check back over the next three days and read more about each key. This information was compiled through research and actual experience of working with companies over the past three decades.

Finally one last thought. While the focus of this post is on companies and organizations – it also applies to individuals who want to grow and develop. It is easy to see the correlation of each key and how the three steps can be applied at the individual level. There will be a future post outlining these traits for individuals.

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Posted by Voss Graham on January 27, 2009 at 5:07 am under Strategy.
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