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Developing

High-Growth

Business

Business development stage:

GROWTH

by Vadim Kotelnikov & 1000ventures.com team

When all else fails, read the instructions” (Cahn’s axiom)

Managing the Five Risks you face at all stages of your business development:

  1. growth risk

  2. technology & production risk

  3. marketability & competing risk

  4. financial risk

  5. team & management risk

Turn Risks into Opportunities

Click on your company growth stage:

 

Gestation

Start-Up

Pilot Stage

Roll Out

Growth

Expansion

Maturity

 

5.

Growth

- the company is broadening production lines, focusing on the main product; management style transition from informal to formal

Organization: Centralized

Management:  Hybrid formal/informal

Technology: Developed, focused

Funding Stage: Second

pp.

Problem

(Why worry?)

Solution

(What to do?)

Action

(How to do?)

5.1

Growth Risk:

Your capabilities in maintaining perspective (reality vs. euphoria), balancing today's and tomorrow's needs, and coordinating resources are being tested

  • Besides creating a viable model, a critical factor in the ultimate success is how well and fast your company integrates

  • Development of a flexible and responsive company structure adaptable to changing internal and external conditions

  • Development of an effective and flexible production systems responsive to change (see slide show)

  • Building strategic alliances and business partnerships (see slide show)

5.2

Technology & Production Risk:

  • Early success with a single application or product line does not translate into long-term viability in the face of well-capitalized, entrenched competitors with strong customer relationships

  • New technology and products development draws significant resources from the fast growing business operations

  • Identification of strategic market intervention areas

  • Development of the business and technology strategy to achieve this goal

  • Top management participation

  • Development of strategic technology development partnerships (see slide show)

5.3

Marketability & Competing Risk:

  • Poor market feedback

  • Poor strategic marketing plan

  • Growing backorders

  • Competitors "knockoffs"

  • Customer complaints; product returns or write-offs

  • While managing growing complexity, it essential to remain focused on how the business provides value to its customers

  • Fighting fires

  • Research into the market and its trends

  • Reinventing market development strategy

 

5.4

Financial Risk:

  • High leverage

  • Short-term financing

  • Inventory shortages or imbalances

  • Poor financial & tax strategy for generating cash

  • Excessive increases in overhead and personnel

  • Operating costs reduction through optimization of production systems

  •  Raising of working capital (second round) to support strategic growth plans (see slide show)

 

5.5

Team & Management Risk:

  • No strategic and contingency planning

  • Shifting priorities in response to opportunities

  • Resisting development of structure, processes and controls

  • Hiring people who are no smarter than you are

  • Key people leaving

  • Others don't share your urgency

  • Poor decision support systems

  • Overridden and inadequate internal systems, non-responsive to customers & employees

  • Conflict between formal and informal

  • Emergence of the "Peter Principle"

  • Difficult decisions about roles, authority & responsibility

  • Keeping pace with an increasingly complex business environment requires proper delegation, better communication, and cross-pollination of perspectives from outside advisers and peers

  • Managing as a team

  • Addressing the problem of "good people" who can't keep up

  • Establishment of management systems enabling better control, transparency, and customer relationships

  • Development of employee empowerment mechanisms

  • Development of formal professional management structures

  • Learn to do less and manage more; practice the art of effective leadership and management

  • Practice effective self-management

  • Manage by objectives

  • Start with yourself, know your own values, strengths, weaknesses and use them effectively

  • To be a successful manager, learn how to innovate

  • Build an innovation-friendly organization

  • If you cannot afford top management, build your management team from within and develop their management skills

  • Change from reactive to proactive style

  • Do the feedback analysis as a matter of course to build on your strengths

  • Gain really effective control a comprehensive business audit

  • Develop plans for the future

  • Don't over-respond to opportunities to avoid fragmentation and burn-out (see 80/20 Principle)

  • Micro management de-motivates people - concentrate on the activities that bring the most value to the organization and delegate other responsibilities and tasks

  • Make sure you communicate clearly and often with colleagues, superiors, and subordinates

  • Talk less and listen more and actively to associates, advisors, customers, suppliers, and vendors; cross-pollinate solutions and ideas with peers and advisers outside the business

  • Don't assume that everyone in the company thinks like you do; that you have all the answers; that things won't get done without you; and that your direct reports will automatically function as a team

  • Play the role of the team builder, coach, strategic planner and communicator; communicate critical and actionable information

  • Require top managers to operate as a "team"

  • Help team manage the plan by group discussion of progress; measuring results with key metrics; communicating progress and results; and adjusting plans to market shifts

  • Manage organizational misfits, malcontents, and non-performers

  • Develop innovative and responsive enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems

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