Leadership & Culture

The Glue

13 June, 2024

Focus on Better Before Bigger: Building a Strong Foundation for Sustainable Growth

Read time • 3min

In the world of business, the pursuit of growth often dominates the conversation. We all want to see our companies expand, our client lists grow, and our revenue charts rise. However, there’s a crucial principle that sometimes gets overlooked in the rush to scale up: focusing on better before bigger.

As a seasoned business leader, I’ve seen firsthand how essential it is to lay down strong foundations before pursuing growth. The most common problems I’ve encountered in consulting businesses stem from trying to grow too quickly without having the right systems and processes in place. Here are some key areas where focusing on improvement before expansion can make a significant difference:

People: Hire Smart, Not Fast

One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen is in the recruitment and hiring process. Often, businesses rush to fill positions without clearly defining what they need. This lack of clarity leads to poor hires, which can cause a host of issues down the line. The solution? Establish a common understanding of the skills, experience, and qualities you’re looking for in candidates. By tasking your people team with a well-defined mission, you ensure they find the right fit for your organisation, leading to a more cohesive and effective workforce.

Delivery: Foster Team Cohesion

I’ve also witnessed clients struggle with delivery issues that could have been avoided with simple improvements in team cohesion. When teams don’t have clear processes or understand their roles and responsibilities, projects can quickly become chaotic. Implementing straightforward delivery processes and promoting knowledge sharing can help your team work together more effectively. Ensure everyone knows their roles and how to collaborate as a project team, and you’ll see a marked improvement in delivery outcomes.

Finance: Plan and Budget Wisely

Poor investment decisions often result from insufficient financial information. This is another area where focusing on better before bigger can pay off. By using simple planning and budgeting tools, you can make more informed decisions that will benefit your business in the long run. Having a clear financial plan allows you to allocate resources wisely and avoid unnecessary risks.

Sales and Operations: Align and React Quickly

Opportunities can slip through your fingers if your sales and operations teams aren’t aligned and are too busy dealing with daily fires. To seize opportunities as they arise, these teams need to be in sync and able to react swiftly. Establishing clear communication channels and aligning their goals can ensure they work together seamlessly, enabling your business to respond promptly to client needs and market changes.

So what’s the key takeaway?

You need to have focus on getting the right foundations in place before worrying about going all in on growth. This doesn’t mean you should turn clients away, but rather, recognise the importance of continually evolving the practices, processes, and systems in your business. Without a solid foundation, you risk building a house of cards that could come crashing down as you expand your client base.

Practical Steps to Focus on Better

So, how do you go about improving your business before growing it? Or more likely while growing it… Start by selecting one area to focus on each quarter. Form a team of individuals from various departments who are passionate about making a difference. Treat this initiative as a formal internal project with regular standups and showcases to an executive sponsor. This approach not only demonstrates that the project is taken seriously but also provides team members with valuable exposure to senior staff. It’s a fantastic opportunity to identify potential high-performing talent within your organisation.

You then need to celebrate the successes. This shows people that you’re serious about making things better. It helps bake this into the culture of your business. People who have played a part will appreciate having contributed to something important. And you just might find that others start to self organise to make other improvements that will help contribute to those stable foundations.

In conclusion, remember that better should precede bigger in business. By focusing on continuous improvement and strengthening your foundations, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges of growth and build a more sustainable, successful business.

TL;DR Summary

Focus on Foundations: Prioritise improving internal processes, team cohesion, and clear recruitment practices before going all in on expanding your business.

Continuous Improvement: Select one area to improve each quarter, involving a cross-functional team, to build a strong, sustainable foundation for growth.

Celebrate the Wins: Celebrating the wins will demonstrate how important being better is. It will help bake it in to the culture of your company.

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