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Are You Getting
Ready to Explode?
(Growth-wise, That Is!)
by Adele Sommers
What does it
take to create a stellar organization — one
that can respond quickly to changing requirements, withstand
explosive growth, delight and retain customers, and
sustain momentum over time?
Several strategic
factors contribute to creating such idyllic conditions,
including:
1) Establishing
a robust foundation
2) Developing personnel expertise
3) Removing obstacles to productivity
4) Aligning consequences in your organization
5) Managing project activities, and
6) Honing product, service, and customer value
This article introduces
each factor, explains the role it plays, and recommends
ways to introduce them within your enterprise.
Factor #1: Establishing
a Robust Foundation
Creating the conditions
for success in your organization results directly from
fine-tuning the cause-and-effect relationships among
three critical building blocks: personnel, offerings,
and customers.
 All
three must align for the business to achieve optimal
business results. Your enterprise systems and processes
play an important role in balancing these needs.
Before your company
can respond to rapid shifts or prepare for expansion,
you’ll want to look around for leaks and cracks.
Ask, “How do communications and work products flow
from suppliers, within the organization, and to customers?
Who hands off what to whom? Is this ideal or should
we optimize processes?”
The answers will
reveal where critical gaps reside in your foundation,
and what you might need to do to seal them before everyone
can perform effectively on a much larger, faster scale.
Factor #2: Developing
Personnel Expertise
Companies with a
desire to remain flexible, energized, and profitable
help personnel aim their talents along their greatest
strengths. By closely matching strengths with
roles, you’ll create a powerful strategic advantage
within your organization.
Then by asking,
“What should people learn to help the entire organization
achieve its goals? How can we integrate learning with
work?” you’ll reveal further clues about where
to expand expertise.
Encouraging people
to embrace a continuous-learning outlook helps support
and grow the organization. Methods for achieving continuous
learning include, but aren’t limited to, formal
instruction, training, on-the-job apprenticeship, team
problem solving, job rotation, cross-training of personnel,
and electronic support systems that guide people in
performing their work in a just-in-time fashion.
Factor #3: Removing
Obstacles to Productivity 
When people are
struggling to do their jobs but can’t seem to function
effectively, it may be because of obstacles blocking
their way.
If the people in
your organization have skill deficiencies — that
is, a true lack of job knowledge — or not enough
job practice, you would remedy those through training
and/or more repetition on the job. But if people already
know how to do their jobs and are facing hurdles,
then it’s time to hunt for “hassles”
in your organization.
If you’re unsure
of where to look for them, try asking people what’s
impeding their work. They may be missing the proper
level of authority, tools, job support, guidance, resources,
information, or incentives to be effective. They also
might also be grappling with faulty communications,
poorly run meetings, awkward procedures and handoffs,
non-cooperative managers or peers, or other problems.
By systematically correcting these hassles, you should
see a dramatic increase in morale and the bottom line.
Factor #4: Aligning
Consequences in Your Organization
Even when personnel
are trained and obstacles have been removed, businesses
often overlook key opportunities to be sure they’re
“walking their talk.” If management
says one thing but does another, it’s sending mixed
signals, and will likely experience mixed results. Mixed
messages communicate to personnel that they can’t
trust what they hear, so they are unlikely to put forth
their best effort. The casualties in these situations
include morale and motivation.
If you’re interested
in boosting achievement, you’ll want to be aware
of how even mildly confusing messages can discourage
people from performing. So, you’ll want to ensure
that no one discourages people from doing what they’ve
been asked to do, while also encouraging the actions,
behaviors, and attitudes you do want to see.
Factor #5: Managing
Project Activities
 Many
organizations and entrepreneurs don’t realize that
much of what they work on every day involves project
endeavors. Projects are usually goal-oriented, of limited
duration, and constrained by finite conditions. Examples
of projects include Web site launches, product development,
advertising campaigns, and training rollouts.
Yet it’s not
uncommon for people working on projects to remain unaware
of core project management functions. These include
planning and scheduling; managing risks, changes, and
scope; communicating with stakeholders and team members;
rolling out deliverables, learning from experience;
and deriving best practices.
Each one of these
aspects contributes greatly to bringing projects to
fruition. Without them, projects often struggle along,
experiencing complications and snags. Learning basic
project management skills helps people prevent problems,
resolve imbalances that arise, and produce stellar results.
Factor #6: Honing
Product, Service, and Customer Value
Customer retention
research shows that it costs up to five times more to
attract new customers than to keep existing ones. So,
once consumers are excited about your offerings, strive
to keep them from becoming disgruntled and taking their
business elsewhere. The secret is creating consistently
pleasant customer experiences.
There are several
ways to transform customers into “raving fans.”
First, make your offerings easy to use by designing
them to be as simple and transparent as possible.
Rigorously test, evaluate, and refine all the
interfaces and functions of your products, services,
and Web sites.
Fanatically remove all of the hassles customers
experience when they interact with your offerings, systems,
policies, and staff.
Make sure your offerings are bulletproof under
sub-optimal conditions, and prevent variation
in your product and service quality.
Under-promise and over-deliver.
Then consider ways
to increase novelty and enjoyment, such as through
theme-based buying experiences. The more of these techniques
you apply, the more thrilled your customers will be!
In conclusion,
establishing a robust foundation, developing personnel
expertise, removing obstacles to productivity, aligning
consequences, managing projects, and refining customer
experiences with your offerings can produce an organization
that thrives on growth — and then sustains its
momentum through constant refinement.
Copyright 2006 Adele Sommers
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Whew!
It was 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) at
my house on the Central Coast of California this week,
and even hotter in the neighboring towns. I actually
took a picture of our thermometer to prove it! 
