Running a successful business requires making a lot of decisions. As a business owner or executive, your business’s success depends on the sum of all the decisions you make. Base your decisions on your company’s goals and priorities for 2017. What do you plan to focus on this upcoming year?

Verne Harnish, founder of Gazelles and author of “Scaling Up,” identified four decisions that growth companies must get right to maximize their revenue, productivity and time. These four decisions involve the areas of Strategy, Execution, People and Cash. Focusing on these “Rockefeller Habits” will help you achieve your growth targets and stay ahead of your competitors.

Here are the four critical decisions facing every business leader. Please identify what decision you plan on focusing on and SHARE IT WITH ME HERE:

1.Attract and keep the right PEOPLE Is everyone in your company pulling their own weight and contributing as they should? If you had to start the company all over tomorrow, would you enthusiastically rehire everyone on your team? Growth companies’ most difficult decisions revolve around getting the right people in the right seats.
Actions to take:
– Becoming a magnet for A Players who are dedicated to your goals
– Increasing accountability and results

2.Create a truly differentiated STRATEGY Do you have a solid top-line revenue growth strategy in place? The key to sustainable top-line growth is three-fold: knowing your core customer, developing a clear brand promise, and developing your Big Hairy Audacious Goals for sustainable revenue growth.
Actions to take:
– Clarifying your core values
– Discovering your SWOTs and trends
– Determining your 3-5 year key strategies to catapult your growth
3.Drive flawless EXECUTION One common challenge that quietly sneaks up on successful growth companies is the subtle transition from excellent, precise execution to passivity, complacency, and eventually poor execution disciplines. By simply tightening up your execution habits, you can dramatically improve gross margins and profitability while reducing the time it takes everyone to complete their work.
Actions to take:
– Learning and applying great business habits – CLICK HERE TO SEE
– Creating a culture of accountability
– Fine-tuning processes to run without drama
4.Have plenty of CASH to weather the storms And the last decision is cash. The first law of entrepreneurial gravity is “Growth Sucks Cash.” We encourage companies to calculate their Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) which measures companywide how long it takes between when you spend a dollar (marketing, design, rent, wages, etc.) until you get that dollar back.
Actions to take:
– Accelerating cash flow to fuel your growth
– Improving your sales cycle and make sure you are never short on cash

By understanding which decision your company should prioritize in 2017, your team will align to get faster results through organizational clarity and accountability. You will also see an acceleration in your growth by having a strategic advantage over your competitors and will position your brand as a market leader.

While each of the identified decisions requires energy and attention, there should be one that needs the most focus to reach your goals in 2017. CLICK HERE TO SHARE IT WITH ME! I look forward to your response and will use your feedback to focus the theme of next month’s blog.

It is time to begin (if you haven’t already) planning for success in 2017! Luck favors the mind that is prepared. How is your strategic plan coming along? For 2017 strategic thinking and execution planning, CONTACT ME for guidance and facilitation.