by Rick Baker
On Sep 13, 2012
If you want to ensure your business is solid from top to bottom and from bottom to top, consider building a solid 3-layer pyramid:
The first layer to build is: Solving Problems. There are 3 major considerations:
- People: you and your people must have the right attitude and the right strengths...analytical, creative, experiential, etc
- Process: you and your people must have access to good problem-solving systems and tools...as one example, P=2S+O
- Situations: you and your people must be able to not just analyse but also anticipate situations
The next layer to build is:
Growing Profits. There are 3 major considerations:
- People: as above and remember, people have radically different views about money and many handle it poorly
- Process: key considerations are finger-on-the-financial-pulse measures and metrics, performance tracking models, and cash-flow forecasts
- Situations: as above and work to look at things from different perspectives...including your banker's perspective
- People: as above and business value increases as value delivered to clients, employees, suppliers, & owners increases
- Process: as above and more - the process must fit the people, and vice-versa
- Situations: as above and more - the business culture must be constructed so situations are easier to anticipate and it is the responsibility of the leader to guide people and guide processes so situations are constructed.