Forget Where You Came From
A business travels through multiple stages on its way from birth to prosperity. Unfortunately, not all business owners make the same transition.
Consider this image based on the work of Alan Weiss Phd.:
On the left is a business unit that struggles for Survival. In this stage a business will take any opportunities that cross its path. Then, at some point it becomes a living, breathing organism illustrated by the block.
In the Living stage it is able to sustain its existence and starts to form a personality and earn early recognition.
Once that business gets established, it’s common to say that the business has “Arrived.” It’s a going concern that now has the benefit of being selective in the opportunities it takes on. It is no longer concerned with survival and produces profits and wealth.
In the far right stage, the Prosper stage, a business experiences its own gravity. New opportunities show up unannounced and market differentiation is achieved.
The challenge for business owners and their business unit managers is that they aren’t changing their mindset as the business moves between stages. The business may be in the Arrival stage but the owners and managers act like they’re stuck between Survival and Living.
Literature is filled with characters like Ebeneezer Scrooge who built a prospering business but didn’t change behaviors to reflect their newfound prosperity. Be aware of your mindset and your actions compared to where your business is. If your business is in the Living stage, don’t be stuck in the Survival stage. You need to help your managers with the same transition because otherwise, you’re holding your business back.
To diagnose whether or not you’re holding your business back because either you’re stuck in a regressive mindset or your mindset is too aggressive, is to determine what stage your business or business units are in. Start with the business as a whole and then narrow your focus into each business unit while referencing Weiss’s chart.
It’s important not to lump in new business units with the business as a whole. The art of Survival requires a particular mindset, but in order to Prosper your business manager will need to change their beliefs, add new friends, alter their image and maybe even change their self talk.
No bah-humbug needed.
(From Amalgamte: Summer 2015)