7-Step Approach to “Surviving” Rapid Growth
July 25, 2010
by Avik Roy
Nothing pleases small company CEOs more than an oncoming wave of customer demand. When the wave hits they often discover the force can disrupt and derail their business. It can overwhelm overworked employees; push ad-hoc processes to the verge of collapse; and quickly exploit vulnerabilities of fragile systems.
Sustaining rapid demand growth requires flawless operations. Yet seemingly random choke points pop up, undermining important levers of performance. Product or service quality erodes. Timelines slip. Irritable customers complain about service and support. Renewal rates and repeat orders slow and maybe decline.
Human capital, the most critical resource in a crisis, buckles. Front-line employees are pulled concurrently in several conflicting directions without a coherent action plan, clear guidance, or essential resources. Stress levels rise. Collaboration and teamwork is frayed. Mistakes proliferate. Unless arrested quickly, this negative swirl spawns other challenges.
What should leaders do when rapid revenue growth is accompanied by rapid operational decline? I recommend focusing first on people and process to turn such moments of adversity into strength within a relatively short period of time. Here are seven steps on how to do just that.:
- Define Objectives and Pinpoint the Right Metrics:
Make explicit the business outcomes that will frame success. Translate business outcomes into 3 to 5 measurable performance endpoints. Ask what will delight the customer. Most small businesses either measure the wrong things, or pour through a “data-dump” in lieu of real performance yardsticks. - Embrace Transparency:
Share the right metrics up and down the organization. Everyone on the team must know where the “ship” is headed and important markers of progress. Metrics or performance data in most small companies is shared only by a few people at the top. - Make Simple Process Improvements:
Review existing operations quickly to identify improvement opportunities. First, use the 80-20 rule. Identify the few key tasks that use up 80% of employee time. Ask “How does this help achieve our performance metrics?” or simply “Why do we do this?” These questions will pinpoint opportunities for the organization to improve effectiveness. Second, focus on finding easily implementable changes to existing work processes that will improve operational efficiencies. Think faster-better-cheaper. - Review & Modify Job Design:
Identify jobs impacted by these process improvements. Think through, modify and document job design changes. Use “Before” and “After” snapshots. Sit down with each individual and make sure they understand what they need to do differently and how. Address skill gaps with training, mentoring or coaching. If staff needs to be reassigned or removed, this is the time to do it. - Personalize the Metrics:
Help each individual understand how their actions “move the needle” in achieving the targeted measures of success. Show how points of contact roll up individual action into teamwork, and impact other key metrics. This creates self-awareness, helps change behavior, and provides a framework each person can use to prioritize their actions. - Invest in Building Confidence:
Instill self-belief and restore lost confidence within your organization. Like in sports, an organization’s “mental game” gets dented in the face of questions and doubts about performance. Celebrate successes, use verbal persuasion, build positive imagery, and induce a state of “relaxed concentration”. Work from the individual up. - Track, Monitor & Tweak:
Build a self-reinforcing culture of performance. Not a one-time fix.
Small companies don’t have the time, resources, or temperament to apply classic Six Sigma, LEAN, or other rigorous techniques. This 7-Step approach will harness the positive energy of employees and associates to improve performance in ways that delight customers. It will also create strong alignment between what the business aims to achieve, and how the organization directs and manages its attention.