En pillars of scaling profitably
are well planned and executed, known, communicated and efficient. If you don’t have a clear business process for your primary business function, scale will always elude you
Pillar 5: A Sales Driven Culture
While sales are clearly paramount to scaling your business, it cannot be just the responsibility of the sale function. Everyone in the company, from the receptionist to the CEO, needs to live, eat and breath customer satisfaction and new sales attraction/ conversion.
Pillar 6: People Companies that scale very well do so by hiring the most suitable people for the role, retaining them effectively and providing clarity, focus and accountability (most important) so people know their job is and how to do it well. Not everyone can be the captain of the ship, so it is critical that the right people know their right roles!
Pillar 7: Access to Capital
As companies scale, especially transitioning into growth mode, the need for capital rises disproportionally to cash production. Later on the cycle can reverse (except in more capital intensive businesses) so a consistent, clear and dependable access to capital is paramount.
Pillar 8: Relentless Execution
This should likely be higher on the list, since it is so important, and often underestimated as a factor in scaling. Yes, every business must execute well! However, when scaling, time is of the essence at it becomes critical to establish the market presence ahead of your competitors that will give you a longterm, entrenched leadership position.
Pillar 9: Performance Measurement
I am often surprised how few companies measure their performance well. When scaling, the ability to be flexible and change to meet the new conditions becomes paramount. A business leader must know what works, what does not and why. Today, analytics and technical platforms make this task easier, however, it still needs to be driven from the top.
Pillar 10: Continuous Renewal
In this age of disruption, the ability to evaluate clearly, innovate rapidly and renew effectively is becoming a key pillar of scaling well. Change is constant and out of the old will emerge the new. Encourage your team and company to embrace change, and it will not only survive, but thrive in our rapidly changing world.
Eamonn has a B. Eng. (Electrical) from Lakehead University, MBA (Finance) from University of Toronto, and has completed Executive Education at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He lives in Vancouver, Canada. Follow him on twitter @Eamonnpercy.