Jun
12
Written by:
Daniel M. Murphy
6/12/2008
To be an effective business owner, you must adopt a CEO mindset and big-picture perspective. As a leader, however, don’t over-complicate business. Keep business simple and straightforward. Simplicity allows for clarity of focus, and focus allows for superior performance. Following is a simple framework by which to see and guide your enterprise.
First, as owner/CEO, you are ultimately responsible for the company’s leadership process (direction, strategy, focus, goals, accountability) and the business development process (building a systems-based business that is self-managing and nearly runs on auto-pilot). After that, there are only a handful of additional major processes you need to ensure are in place, well documented, and working smoothly and optimally.
And luckily, you can lump all these other processes together into one of two buckets -- either front-line interacting with the customers and prospects or back-office providing support to the front-line. My coaching clients from various industries over the years used different metaphors to refer to these two vital worlds within any business: front-stage and back-stage; front-line and back-line; front-counter and back-office; on stage and off stage; externally focused and internally focused; or operations and administration. Pick a metaphor that makes sense for your business. Below are some additional details about these two worlds:
Marketing, Selling, Operations & Customer Service
In brief, the marketing process generates leads, the selling process generates customers by closing leads, and the operations process fulfills the promises made to the customers. Completing the business cycle is the customer service process that follows up with the customer to ensure satisfaction with the current transaction and uncover any other unmet needs. Since the purpose of any business is to find, satisfy and keep customers, marketing, selling, operations, and customer service processes should be your top priorities and areas of focus. Are they?
Back-office Support Functions
While important, back-office support functions (finance/accounting process to manage money; human resources to manage employee issues; and infrastructure to manage technology, facilities, administration, etc.) should be secondary priorities and focused on supporting your company’s main mission -- attracting, serving and satisfying customers.
Spend your time and energy focusing on your company’s core processes and competencies – those functions that you do extremely well as an organization and which add real value to the customer. Keeping business simple will help you stay focused on what is most important as an owner and keep you away from the low-value clutter and trivial stuff that can rob you of your time, passion and sanity.
Daniel Murphy
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Copyright ©2008 Daniel M. Murphy
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