Planning For Growth

Are you planning your business or are you planning your growth?

If you are like many high-performing business people, you have an annual ritual to set your plans for the coming twelve months. Some people do it in December, others at weird, miscellaneous times of the year, but most -- me included -- tend to do it the beginning part of the New Year.

It doesn't matter exactly when you do this, but it is important you do it sometime soon. It has been said all the way back to the time of the ancients: goals and written plans for their attainment are the surest way to speed up your accomplishments. So skipping this step is not an option!

As you buckle down to this critical task, consider: are you planning for business as usual or are you planning for wonderful, extraordinary, growth? Many people feel kind of beaten down by the past three years of economic mis-performance and think a year in which profits don't retreat will be a good year.

Others--most people--will plan to do something very much like they did in 2003; perhaps they will try to do it a bit better. They may look at the surplus resources they have available (if any) and try to figure out how they can eke out a little more performance, profit and revenue -- without taking any big risks or doing anything radical. And for the most part, it will be business as usual.

Ho hum...

Don't be either of these types...

Plan to do something extraordinary!

Plan to extend or expand or excel.

And regardless of the economic forecast--which in the US is good, and in other places not so good--plan to create a breakthrough in your business.

Sounds good... How?

First, some fundamentals. Unless you have invented something never before seen in the world, there are only four components to having a profitable business:

Have a large enough--and rich enough--market;

Have products or services your market wants and is willing to pay for;

Have a cost efficient way to obtain (and deliver) the product or service; and,

Have a cost efficient way to sell your product or service.

And regardless of what you may have heard in the past, there are only three ways to increase your revenue:

Sell to more customers;

Sell more to the same customers with each transaction; and,

Sell the same customers more often.

Think about it...

Because while all of this may seem obvious and trivial, careful consideration of these seven simple statements will provide you some mighty powerful insights into how to have a breakthrough in your business.

Second, your job is to turn these statements into the right questions.

Questions like, "How can I sell more customer?" Or, "What services can I add to my product mix to increase the size of an average transaction?" Or even, "Am I selling to the right (large enough and rich enough) market?"

Asking the right questions will fire off thought processes that can make you money--lots of it--provided you answer the questions and act on your answers.

Say your business sells software to plumbing supply houses. You expect the pace of building to cool off a bit this year because of global interest rate increases, which will mean that your customers will have less money to upgrade their computer systems this year. "How to sell to more customers" might not be the right question this year. But asking "how can I sell more to my current customers" might lead to an idea to develop a coaching or consulting service that helps them increase their profits--by using your software--even in a down plumbing supply market.

You could potentially sell this service to every single one of your customers! That would be some breakthrough.

And asking, "how can I sell to my past customers" could yield an additional windfall as those guys will really need your help.

Or perhaps you sell web-based information to stock market traders, and the market is heating up again. You know that more "players" will be entering the game, and you know most of them will lose their shirts (again) if they don't get some help fast.

Asking "how can I cost-effectively sell to more customers quickly" might lead you to some powerful joint-venture strategies. And thinking about joint ventures could lead you the question '"how can I provide value to my competitors' products" which could open up a whole new market for you. Another breakthrough.

Can you see how asking questions will help you plan for extraordinary growth?

The right questions, answered in the proper order gives you what I call a Growth Strategy Roadmap. This process will direct your thinking to create breakthroughs on demand. Sound impossible? It's not... I have seen it work over and over. In fact, I've been helping people grow their businesses for years--by showing them how to ask these critical business-building questions.

The third thing you must do, after you ask the right questions, is invent answers to those questions... and then you have to act on those answers. Of course, putting together an effective growth plan is a time consuming process, and there are lots of places for missteps that will lead to bad conclusions. But the benefits can be huge.

© Paul Lemberg. All rights reserved

Paul Lemberg's clients call him "the unreasonable business coach" because he insists they pursue goals and take actions far outside their comfort zone to make more money than they previously thought possible. To get business coaching tips, tools and strategies like these, visit http://www.paullemberg.com/Business_Coachin g.html.

In The News:

---

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: What Brokers Should Know Before They Go
CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago
( Kristen McNamara writes Practice Management, a column that looks at ways financial advisers can build and improve their business. ...

MedaSorb Technologies Corporation Announces Management Changes
CNNMoney.com - 4 hours ago
These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. ...

Reuters
Lehman Private-Equity Arm Gains New Investment
Wall Street Journal - 23 hours ago
The business has $4.5 billion under management, and holds stakes in more than a dozen portfolio companies including a Spanish railcar manufacturer to a US ...
Lehman Deal Spins Off Part of Private Equity Unit Into Independent ... New York Times
Lehman deal on private equity close Reuters
Lehman Said to Be in Talks to Sell Fund to Managers, Reinet Bloomberg
FINalternatives - RTT Newsall 95 news articles

HE-5 Resources, Corp. Announces Reorganizational Changes Are ...
CNNMoney.com - 8 hours ago
New Management stated the following: "We are very pleased to begin our new operations and to share our visions and exclusive development program whit HE-5 ...

Calamos Asset Management cuts 12% of workforce
Chicago Tribune, United States - 1 hour ago
It had $23.8 billion in assets under management as of November, down from $46.2 billion in December 2007. The job cuts were made companywide, except for the ...
Calamos Asset Management Cuts 12% Of Its Workforce - Quick Facts RTT News
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. Reduces Staff as Part of Expense ... Stockhouse
all 11 news articles

CCTV
Management Consulting in the Government?
Newsweek - Jan 8, 2009
In the world of management consulting, high-powered and often expensive contractors infiltrate all levels of a company to determine how it can run more ...
Chief Performance Officer: Nancy Killefer TIME
Obama Appoints Government Performance Officer Washington Post
Obama's performance czar has tried to improve IRS The Associated Press
CFO.com Magazine - GovExec.comall 488 news articles

Amazon’s New Management Console Treads Lightly
GigaOm, CA - 4 hours ago
Today, Amazon ( s AMZN) Web Services announced a management console that illustrates how carefully Amazon is playing its role as a platform provider. ...
Amazon Web Services Launches Management Console CMSWire
Amazon Web Services releases web-based EC2 console CNET News
Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console Examiner.com
ReadWriteWeb - PC Worldall 29 news articles

Peregrine management drops buyout plan, shares fall
Reuters - 10 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 9 (Reuters) - South African wealth and asset management firm Peregrine Holdings Limited (PGRJ.J) said on Friday a management buyout plan ...

University of California regents may freeze management pay
Bizjournals.com, NC - 6 hours ago
A pay freeze for senior management of the University of California system will be considered by the UC Board of Regents during a Jan. 14 teleconference. ...

JPMorgan Asset Management's Bull SA Stake Falls To 1.72%
CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Asset Management's stake in French IT company Bull SA (BULL.FR) has fallen through the 5% threshold to 1.72%, according to a ...

management - Google News

How to Make the Best of it - Take Your Weather with You

I once worked in a place where there were three lines of words, placed just before employees went from backshop to front of shop. These said:-Smile!Remember -... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative

This short story, Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how important cooperation, collaboration, and communication... Read More

Your Company Without Training - Any Questions?

Okay, be honest!Are you guilty of sticking in a few boring videos and calling it training?Do you send in your department heads to deliver a few, rushed,... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Measure

Measure.The first key question to answer in starting a problem-solving project is, "How will you know when the problem is solved?" Answer this question in measurable terms... Read More

Optimizing Your Cash Flow With Proper Accounts Receivable Management

Businesses miss on growth opportunities and even close their doors every day, not because they aren't profitable enough, but because they are strangled by poor cash flow.... Read More

Performance Reviews That Actually Improve Performance

Employee performance reviews are one of the most dreaded tasks by most managers. It is hard to win here ? you can never say enough good things,... Read More

The Significance of the Mundane

This article begins with a tip of the hat to a scholarly publication called the Journal of Mundane Behavior. Unlike other publications, which herald important issues, this... Read More

Productive Meetings: How to Make Your Meetings More Productive

There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda and stick to it. The agenda drives the content and outcomes of the meeting and, where appropriate,... Read More

Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing

How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may need to make the case for outsourcing."Businesses today are kicking into survival mode," says Bill Allison, managing... Read More

Demise of the Lone Ranger Manager: A Lesson in Management Communication Style

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall success of their enterprise, subordinates can hardly be blamed for acting according to predictions.Let's look at a... Read More

PR Still a Mystery to Some

Unfortunately, there are managers who define public relations by its applications. Which explains neither its underlying strengths nor what PR is all about.The casual observer is left... Read More

11 Strategies on How to Work in An Open Plan Environment

Many work environments now are open plan, with only a few senior managers having offices of their own. This style of work can have great benefits for... Read More

How to Set Up a Conference Call

The methods in which you set up a conference call vary between the different services you use, and what type of conference calling you are using. There... Read More

Rapid Culture Change is Possible

Purpose: Show how immersion leadership training makes strategic initiative success possible.Adults learn through experience. We learn behaviors through experience. This is the flagpole fact of the educational... Read More

Top Ten Things About Creating a Business Vision

To visualise where you are going, is deeper and more sensory than anything you have ever done before. And these are the skills of those who are... Read More

How Bad Communication Can Hold You Back and How to Break Free of It

The reason jobs are often not done right and employees are fired is because of lack of skill. Right? Wrong! Poor communication and ineffective human relations are... Read More

Five Steps to Successful Business Succession

The great majority of family businesses in North America are still owned and operated by descendants of the founder. The business acumen that these first, second, third,... Read More

Understand What Flows Through Your Business to Find Improvement

I remember once seeing a cartoon which showed two people working a counter. On the wall behind them was a sign which read, "Quality Work, Low Price,... Read More

Policy & Procedure Manuals - Tools For Greater Productivity and Efficiency

In today's tough retail environment the retailer needs all the tools he can get to help improve efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line. Two of these tools... Read More

Create Your Dashboard for Success

Driving down the road our eyes frequently scan the vital instruments on the dashboard that monitor speed, fuel level, coolant temperature, and oil pressure. The modern vehicle... Read More

Unlock the Hidden Creativity of Your Employees

To release creativity in employees, managers must get involved in their employees' work. Look at each employee as if he or she is the expert on the... Read More

Building the Trust in Your Employees - 12 Easy Tips

In Stephen Covey's great book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", he talks about the 'emotional bank account', where you have to build a credit in... Read More

How to do SWOT Analysis for your Business

SWOT analysis is needed for all business to understand how to improve their business.To have best SWOT Analysis we use below methodSWOT on Strengths that you can... Read More

Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business

Take some bold steps and help your employees and business partners open up to real change and help them start thinking again to the longer term. Send... Read More

Just The Facts

Attitudes are more important than facts. Dr. Karl Menninger Attitudes are intangible and highly personal. They're based on your experience, but more importantly, on your interpretation... Read More

Rethinking Workplace Security: How the Rules Have Changed

The workplace has traditionally been a dangerous place. Very early in mankind's history perils emanated from the place and type of work they performed. Long before industrialization,... Read More