Column: Lead the way to success

Question: Our least profitable division needs some kind of direction, training or guidance on how to achieve the goals they”™ve set, from daily planning and priorities, what gives them the best return on investment and where to market. Where do I start?

Thoughts of the day: Figuring out a leadership model that works for your business is essential. Find the gaps. Gather and report on information consistently to ensure the company is gaining the right kind of traction. Build a profit model.

Pick a point on the horizon and head for it. Line up today”™s tasks, this year”™s goals and three- to five-year objectives. Things will undoubtedly change as time unfolds, but knowing where you are headed and describing needed changes will help everyone on your team stay on point. This is job No. 1 for any business owner. Put your goals in writing and share them with everyone in the company.

Be a problem solver. Figure out what works and what doesn”™t work in your industry. Fix the problems. Test solutions with customers to ensure there is a market need. Understand what your marketplace wants and get everyone on board with delivering exactly that, with some degree of uniqueness.

Assign as many people to marketing as possible. Teamwork always gets better solutions, so long as the debate ends in a concrete set of next steps.

Ask yourself: Do you have the right people and are they well-trained? How current are technology and processes? Is your ego in check?

Surround yourself with people you can rely on who are committed to the same set of goals, objectives and tasks as you are, with the skills necessary to build and run a company two to three times the size.

Learn to defer to the people around you. Pave the path to successful expansion by allowing a team of committed, accountable people to take the business forward.

Find the right mix between good people taking initiative and systems that deliver consistency and reliability. You need both. Make sure your systems are up to date, efficient, easy to use and widely in use.

It”™s normal to consider hanging back in sticker shock when the price of a technology innovation or key hire seems too high. Consider how the person or system will be used and what impact that will have on your organization. Look for personnel and technological solutions that are likely to be around and still innovating years down the road.

Use technology upgrades to rethink how things are done. Streamline everything from how materials are handled, to how customers interact with you, to how pricing is managed. Speed and accuracy through automation are key if your company is to compete effectively in the 21st century.

Most entrepreneurs find it hard to step back and get out of peoples”™ way. Admit that you, too, have made your fair share of mistakes. Learn to take pride in letting those around you get stronger as they seek to solve problems, even if they take a route different from the one you might choose. Encourage people to step up and take over.

Figure out what key indicators will tell you the most about whether things are on track. Post results on the wall so that everyone can see how things are progressing. Use graphs to make progress visible.

Make time to meet weekly to discuss goals, key indicators, accountabilities, progress, obstacles, lessons and next steps. Keep notes in writing. Agree on the next list of actions to be taken, who will do what and by when. Check on whether activities agreed to earlier are complete or stuck. Figure out who needs help and get them what they need.

Teach people about profitability. Build a model to measure return on investment and make ROI a critical success measure. Keep profits in the company to ensure availability of funds to solve problems when things don”™t go as planned.

Looking for a good book? Try “Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It ”¦ and Why the Rest Don”™t” by Verne Harnish.

Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., strategyleaders.com, a business-consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at 877-238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Send it via email to AskAndi@strategyleaders. Visit AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.