The 7 Rules Of Growth For Small Businesses

 For years, I've tried to answer this question: What do small businesses that achieve sustained growth do differently than those that don't?

As a senior consultant for Inc. magazine, I speak with thousands of business owners each year. I learned that there are no magic bullets or 17-point checklists that allow for guaranteed growth. However, there are seven specific areas that growing companies focus their efforts on.

1. Strong sense of purpose. Most leaders of growing companies find that it takes more than the promise of ever-increasing financial reward to fuel their aspirations and ambitions. They find a higher calling than the simple search for "more money."

2. Excellent market intelligence. This is the ability of an organization to first recognize, and then adapt, to fundamental changes in the marketplace. Oftentimes, small business owners become too myopic and see only a limited view of the markets in which they compete. Growing leaders see the bigger picture.

3. Effective growth planning. This is the best indicator of whether or not a company will grow. To be effective, a growth plan doesn't have to be overly formal or complicated. However, it must be written, well communicated and regularly updated.

4. Customer-driven processes. These days, all the companies I talk to believe they are customer-oriented, when in fact very few are. View all business processes from the customer's perspective. Are they in place to make things easier for the business or to help deliver on the promise of faster, cheaper, and better for the customer?

5. The power of technology. Successful leaders don't allow the rise and fall of technology cycles to give them an excuse to ignore that we live in the information age. If a company is in business, it is in the technology business.

6. The best and brightest people. Growing leaders recognize that they are only as good as the people they work with. The ability to hire, train, and retain the best and brightest people is often the difference between success and failure.

7. Seeing the future. Few organizations take the time to consider the future regularly. Growing leaders learn to diligently monitor and interpret the macro forces of change that affect the world in which they live.