I’ve been asked many times to lay out my magic formula for building a successful small or medium-sized business. I usually respond by saying there’s no magic, only hard work and experience.
While this is certainly true, the success of a small or medium-sized business depends on dedicated execution of the following: articulating a clear mission, hiring the right people, setting goals and measuring progress toward them – and then resolving the inevitable conflicts that arise. The latter task is truly the tricky part. With that in mind, here are the five ingredients in my not-really-magic formula for small or medium-sized business success.
1. Develop a compelling mission. A clearly articulated, compelling mission attracts talent to the organization and encourages strong commitment to the team. It also acts as glue to keep members of the team unified over time. When formulating a mission, start with the why not how. Why is the company here? Why have other companies been unable to solve the problem?
2. Find the right people. Locating talented people with the right skills and experiences is essential, but that’s the easy part. The hard part is finding people with the right character traits. I look for people who like working on a team.
Many smart and successful people don’t work well in teams, and it’s harder to create a successful organization with them, in part because as the organization grows in size, conflicts become harder and harder to resolve.
I also want to hire people who are champions of change and with a natural ability to establish plans, structures and processes. These traits are critical because people lacking them simply won’t be able to support a rapidly growing organization. Ultimately, it’s the personality traits of staffers (their attitudes, beliefs and actions) and their commitment to the mission that results in a company culture that’s capable of fostering successful execution.
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