Our guest blog post this week comes from Bob King of C.O.O. Services. Bob will also be our guest presenter at our “Ready, Set, Grow!” workshop on February 24.
Grow………are you kidding me?
No kidding. Now is the time to prepare to grow. If you survived 2009, congratulations… you know how to lead through a crisis. The next question is: Do you know how to switch from crisis mode to growth mode?
A businesses ability to grow is directly tied to the strength of its foundation. That foundation can be described as the 3 Cs. Capital, Competence and Confidence.
Capital: Does your business have the capital necessary to grow? What is ‘capital’? Loosely defined…….it means available cash. This can be in the form of cash in the bank, cash available from lines of credit or other borrowing facilities, operating margin, or, it can be properly managed working capital. Without the proper amount of capital, a business can not grow. How ready are you to grow from the perspective of the first C?
Competence: You’ve cut to the bone. Maybe even into the bone. How ready are your employees to move into growth mode? How will you retain them? Do you have the sales force ready to grow? What about employee retention? A company’s ability to grow successfully has always been tied to the competence of its people. As a result of the actions many companies had to take during this recession, many employees are tired, scared, and uncertain. They have seen coworkers lose their jobs. Family members are out of work. Retention of key employees is more important than ever. As the economy picks up, they will have more options. What are you doing to improve your company’s second C?
Confidence: As a leader, your company’s ability to grow is directly tied to your confidence level. Do you have confidence your company’s foundation? Confidence in your people? Your products? Your clients? Your markets? Your balance sheet? Without confidence, your growth will be stymied.
Where does your company sit on the 3 C scale? Are you ready to grow? As the leader of your company, you are responsible for putting your company on a firm foundation…….a foundation from which to grow.
If you have the 3 Cs, 2010 can be a growth year.
