This business coaching blog deals with the very important and profitable topic of Business Optimization. As a business owner, in both good times and bad, it pays to think like a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A CEO who sees the big picture and is always searching for better ways to run the business and optimize its results. As a CEO, you should elevate your mindset and obsess about getting more from your current resources and efforts, especially during these challenging economic times. Ready to think optimization?
As the CEO of your business, you should learn to ask yourself and others (internal and external stakeholders) more empowering questions to optimize your company's performance. For example, “How can our business get greater results from every action we take, every expenditure we make, every effort we expend, and every relationship we have”? I know, sounds like a lot...but you have a lot to gain. Optimization is just as much about attitude as anything else. Many more focused questions are given below.
Optimization (also known as leverage) is a mindset of maximizing your results while simultaneously minimizing the amount of time, effort, risk, money, and energy you expend. It’s all about getting greater productivity, performance, profitability and payback from all your ideas, assets, knowledge, systems, processes, practices, people and opportunities. Overlook nothing; leverage opportunities are everywhere.
Optimization is all about using your mind and limited business resources in new and better ways. It’s about using your creative intelligence as an incredible force to increase your sales, customer satisfaction, profits, and quality. Optimization is about freeing yourself and your organization from old ways and limiting beliefs, the “we’ve always done it this way” attitudes, and established and confining industry practices. Free your mind and business from a status quo existence.
Think beyond normal boundaries. Optimization is searching for past, present and future opportunities within and without your company where the application of focus or force will yield substantially multiplied results. For example, if you start following up every customer transaction with a simple thank-you call and an "anything else we can help you with?" approach, your customer satisfaction and additional sales could soar. Another example, don't forget about past customers. Ask, "How can we reach out to past customers and regain their trust and business?" One great idea can yield tremendous results.
Want some terrific, "out-of-the-box" suggestions to improve and optimize your business? Then don't be afraid to ask your employees, customers, and suppliers/vendors for business-improvement suggestions. Very often, they don't have blinders on so they can objectively see real optimization opportunities all around the business.
Just as a tire jack can lift the tremendous weight of a car for a tire change, so too can the strategy of optimization help you significantly lift your company’s revenues, improve operations, and lighten your daily load. A lever, fulcrum and slight force can lift significant weight if you know how to use these tools. To master the art of optimization and leave the status quo behind, all you need is an opportunity mindset and a hand-full of questions, like these:
- As leader, what is the highest and best use of my time, talent, and treasures?
- What company resources are we overlooking or under-utilizing?
- How can we work smarter, not harder?
- What processes or departments within our business are under-performing?
- What past or current relationships could we more fully leverage (i.e. customers, employees, vendors, suppliers, advisers, etc.)?
- What other industries could provide us with some innovative best practices?
- Where are the hidden profit and customer service opportunities within our business?
- Who do we routinely cut checks to (landlord, banker, CPA, suppliers, vendors) that we should be asking to help promote and advance our business?
- What optimization suggestions from our employees, suppliers/vendors, and customers should we pursue first?
Expand your mind and your leadership potential and your business and opportunities expand exponentially. The more you grow as a leader, the more your business grows as a market leader. Think optimization, not status quo.
Our book, "Becoming a Strategic Business Owner, has an entire chapter dedicated to Optimization. Click here to get this valuable business coaching book in either hardback or electronic version.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America