How can your business improve by working on 3 Pillars?
Businesses are complex, especially successful, growing businesses. Often companies clamour to find the latest software or KPI that to help declutter our data and “show us the way”. We often fall in love with our own work so much that we miss some obvious signs. In our blog Is Your Business at RIsk? we found that 57% of businesses fail by year 10. We know that there are a lot of businesses that haven’t failed but aren’t having any fun. Is it possible to put the fun back in business? Often reviewing the 3 Pillars of business can help.
3 Pillars? Come on, our business is more advanced then that!
In sports, art and academics, there is foundational knowledge. The concepts that must be learned in order to truly master the more complex skills that build off the first skills. In hockey it is skating. In painting it is the color wheel. In academics it is language or mathematics.
Can business be the same? We think so. All businesses have the same end in mind, make profit. To do so we need to convince clients to part with their hard earned cash by producing something of value. When is the last time that you looked at the pillars of your business?
Sales (Marketing & Sales)
Attracting business and making good deals is important for both growth and sustaining business. Your business should know your marketing and sales process. Ideally there is someone responsible for lead creation and sale conversion. A step beyond that would be measuring the data from both on a weekly basis and adjusting inputs from there.
Operations (Creating Value for your Client)
For construction companies, operations is the work done in the field. For a law firm, it is the process required to obtain a settlement, win a court case or file the correct paperwork. You get the picture. How well your organization gets work done. This starts with recording processes to ensure they are repeatable. From there creating accountability. The final step is measuring data on how you work and refining the process to create better work or more profitable work.
Finances (Getting paid and being profitable)
Often this is considered the administrative side or the backend of the business. This starts with invoicing, bill processing and following up on overdue accounts. A step beyond that is budgeting and cashflow management. Project and company audits are the final step with automation and data collection processes that allow analysis into the deals that your company does.
Does this really work?
We have found that most companies do one of the three pillars very well. Successful companies will do two of three above average, but their growth will be hindered by the third pillar that they are either uncomfortable with or don’t value. Some companies feel that there are five, seven or maybe even nine pillars for their specific industry.
The three pillars are sometimes difficult to see in some organizations. Sometimes the departments created in starting up the organization straddle zones.
One process to fix them all?
You likely noticed that the process is similar in each pillar to create maturity. Establish the process, measure, refine. The pillars also need to be tied together with feedback, otherwise your organization will operate like a government with processes taking the place of value for your client. As any business owner has experienced, this is a delicate balance.
Where is your business unbalanced?
Maybe you are sceptical of such a simple approach. Use our free Business Assessment Tool and see if it lines up with your diagnosis of what your team needs. Or book a free introduction coaching session to have a Drive coach help determine what your business could benefit most from.
