Hopefully Toward Your Top 3 Strategic Priorities
We have been in Hawaii for a week. I only say that so you have some context for this blog post.
What’s the focus of a vacation? We all know there are not ten things to do or even three things. A holiday means we get to stop running around and just relax. Forget what time it is and just go where the day takes us.
It’s easy to focus on relaxing when we are on vacation. How come it is so hard to focus when we get back to business?
As business owners we take pride in cramming more into our day at the office than Martha Stewart multi-tasking a dinner for 40. But is what you’re working on what will drive your company to the next level? Or do you focus your day on what will clear your to do list?
I think business is confusing for many business owners. There are so many things pulling us in multiple directions. Unlike a day on vacation where your focus is just to relax, we seem to struggle to find that clarity of purpose back in the office.
So we all know what happens when we don’t work on strategic priorities. We don’t get to our intended destination. Where are you driving your company this year? What should you be focused on?
If you want your company to grow, you have to remove the impediments to growth. A classic impediment to growth is building something customers haven’t had input into and then discovering after the fact that your new product or service doesn’t solve the right problem in the right way for customers. Then your strategic focus this year should be to find and remove the hassles that customers experience trying to get their needs met.
If you want to improve profitability, then you have to find all the profitability leaks in the business. Work with a financial analyst to re-work how you account for products and services so you can discover which make money and which don’t. In a down economy, this analysis is critical so you can make smarter decisions.
If you’re a boomer business owner counting on selling your company one day to fund a next act, a retirement adventure or to secure wealth for their family, then you have take both steps above and add a new strategic focus: Learn how to make your company saleable. It takes 2-4 years to do that remodelling work inside your business working with several key advisors.
For more ideas about how to focus and the destructive power of not selecting and aligning you and your management team to your top 3 priorities, read this superb article.
What are your Top 3 strategic priorities this year? Here’s ours. Leave your suggestions and comments for improvement below.
- Raise awareness amongst boomer business owners and their advisors to alert them to the fact they won’t be able to sell or transfer ownership of their companies without becoming saleable first.
- Find and nurture a joint venture relationship with another consulting firm to expand our reach to work with businesses to become saleable.
- Stay focused on what our clients need to grow and/or become saleable so that they get to their intended destinations.
