Most organizations view unexpected growth as an indicator of success, but like all KPIs, there can be too much of a good thing. As opportunities for advancement become apparent, you must be willing to change and adapt in response to the challenges that come with growth. Just as we adjust to these challenges to live a successful life, we must also have this willingness to adapt when building a successful business.
Accelerated growth over a short period can be a challenge for firms that are unprepared to handle the sudden increase in output. Growing pains may include outgrowing the workspace, increased job responsibilities, and outdated technologies that are unable to scale with your business. If a company continues to expand without employing adequate tools, structure, and resources to handle it, it will be unable to sustain itself in the future. To future-proof your organization, you must be aware of the dangers associated with rapid growth and have a plan to address them.
Constantly putting out fires
When your business has successfully launched and you are gaining new clients at an alarming pace, you may find yourself playing the role of crisis manager. While the initial boom may seem like the perfect time to celebrate, the propensity for overworked staff to make mistakes and struggle to keep up with orders may lead to unsatisfactory results. Addressing urgent situations may seem like the only viable option; however, every moment spent dealing with them takes valuable time away from your long-term objectives.
Solution: Establish long-term goals and create small, medium, and large projections for your enterprise so you are prepared for any periods of accelerated growth. View this as an opportunity to recruit experienced personnel. At Pathways Consulting Group, we work with organizations to provide an extra set of hands and expert opinions to help you handle challenges exactly like this. Partnering with a trusted source allows you to learn to recognize when specific matters can be postponed, especially when they don’t align with your business objectives.
Not enough time to meet quality standards and business demands
During rapid business growth, it might feel as though there is never enough time to complete your daily tasks. This can lead to rising stress levels and diminishing morale among staff. During these business challenges, it is not uncommon for CEOs to lean harder on their staff without providing appropriate freedom to solve issues. To progress and delegate tasks effectively, you must have a team with you that has the dedication, autonomy, and skills to develop alongside you.
Solution: Take a step back and reevaluate your objectives. Determine if your higher-level personnel are making progress or if they are held back by mundane tasks. Periods of growth can bring inefficiencies to the surface and help you discover an area where the right tools and technologies can help. ServiceNow, coupled with Now Assist, reduces busy work and replaces those time-consuming, mundane tasks with intelligent automation that frees staff to focus on strategic projects.
Knowing when to trim the fat
Many owners associate growth only with expansion. However, as the company grows, some aspects of your workflows may become irrelevant or impractical. Identifying and eliminating underperforming components of your organization is a vital aspect of shifting your focus toward more productive areas. These underperforming areas are often where companies will run into problems with customer satisfaction and internal productivity.
Solution: Enterprise service management (ESM) is the creation and implementation of good corporate practices to provide your clients with the highest quality goods and services. Many organizations look for help in this area through a specialized consulting service, such as Pathways Consulting Group. When you find a team that actively participates and helps drive an organization’s vision, it relieves pressure and provides access to industry experts.
Rapid growth often pushes businesses beyond their comfort zones, leading to personnel, productivity, product, and personality-related concerns. Rather than denying problems or disregarding the possibility of improvement, address these issues directly to prevent long-term damage to the organization.
Pathways Consulting Group has experience developing solutions to a wide range of business challenges across industries from finance to retail. When your firm is feeling the growing pains, lean on us to help walk you through. Contact Pathways at 917-952-5004 and learn how to future-proof your organization!
*Read the full Forbes article here.
