11750 newton st. | westminster, co 80031 | 303-588-1286 | 1 ©2007 flashpoint! (company name)...

(company name)Stages of Growth X-Ray

Cracking the Code to Your Company’s Growth

“Give a business owner a business plan, help them for a month.

Teach a business owner the tools to grow their business, help them for a lifetime.”

Laurie Taylor, President, FlashPoint!

Taking the Time to THINK About Your Business

Cracking the Code

• It’s NOT about hitting a bulls eye every time

• It’s about KNOWING WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

• It’s an Attitude

It’s An Attitude

•What do I really want?

•How do I go about getting it?

You Can Predict How to Manage Growth

• There is a model for growth that will improve your chances for success

• Understand the ‘constrictions’ that are occurring, how to identify and release them

• Look at where the ‘circulation’ is happening, how to maintain it and improve upon it

• Identify (company’s) TOP 6 – 8 Initiatives that will have the most positive impact on growth opportunities

• Realize you can get ahead of your growth curve and proactively manage growth

Quick Study Guide

• Fill in the blanks and keep it handy during the session

• Start using a new language of business growth

• Make a commitment to implement at least 2 new ideas from today’s discussion

• Share at least 3 critical ideas that you pick up today with someone in your division

The 7 Stages of Entrepreneurial Growth

The Rules

• The movement from one stage of growth to another begins as soon as you land in any stage of growth

• What you don’t get done in a specific stage of growth does not go away

• Time will make a difference• If you aren’t growing, you are dying

Hidden Agents

• Three Faces of a Leader• Modalities• 27 Challenges/27 Strengths• Builder/Protector Ratio• Non-Negotiable Leadership Rules

Start UpStage 1: 1 – 10 employees• Don’t worry about hitting a bulls-

eye, just hit the target!• Generate income.• Cash flow is biggest challenge.• Risk: High – too many unknowns.

Ramp UpStage 2: 11 – 19

employees• Growth is the goal.• Has to generate positive cash flow.• Hiring quality people becomes your

biggest challenge.• Risk: Focused on growth, you forget key

indicators and cash flow gets thin. Disaster could be right around the corner.

DelegationStage 3: 20 – 34

employees• CEO-Centric up to now – you have

outgrown the CEOs span of control.• Now -- Enterprise-Centric.• Control must be delegated.• Train supervisory staff to take on more

responsibility and authority.• Staff buy-in is your biggest challenge.• Risk: Lose momentum due to slow

decision making process

ProfessionalStage 4: 35 – 57

employees• Complexity requires advanced

operational and managerial systems.• Must invest in training.• Your ability to have a solid project

management template is your top challenge.

• Trial and error is out. Just hiring more people is not the answer.

• Risk: CEO risks losing firm by saving money on talent.

IntegrationStage 5: 58 – 95

employees• Whole company must act together to

create a position of strength.• The right hand needs to know what the

left hand is doing.• Decisions need to be made according to

a plan and a process.• Improving sales is your top challenge.• Risk: Without integration you won’t

obtain efficiencies of scale. Competition will eat you for lunch.

StrategicStage 6: 96 – 160

employees• Move from annual planning concept to

multiyear approach.• Staff buy-in is biggest challenge.• Bring on a Board of Directors to help

you create a larger strategic market orientation.

• Risk: Not seeing the larger strategic picture could cause the ‘too little, too late’ syndrome.

VisionaryStage 7: 161 – 500

employees• Foster exploration, identify new opps, develop

action plans.• Top challenge is your products/services are

not differentiated in the market place.• Ignite fires of inspiration, innovation and the

spirit of reaching out to new territories.• Be relentless in allowing mistakes in the

pursuit of new endeavors.• Risk: Management’s efforts to professionalize

the company can crush the entrepreneurial spirit so necessary to maintain a competitive edge.

Flood Zone

Wind Tunnel

The Three Gates of Focus

Profit GateProfit Gate People GatePeople Gate Process GateProcess Gate

Three Gates of Focus

• Revenue/Profit Gate– Predicting growth by maximizing and

anticipating revenue, protection and capacity issues

• People Gate– Building competency and innovation

through the conscious development of people

• Process Gate– Transforming complexity into clarity through

systems

Three Gates of Focus

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

ProfitPeopleProcess

ProfitProcessPeople

PeopleProfitProcess

ProcessProfitPeople

ProfitPeopleProcess

PeopleProfitProcess

PeopleProcessProfit

Hidden Agents• These are agents that lie beneath the

surface of your company and create obstacles to a company’s growth

• On the surface, the issue looked much different than what it really was

• The ability to address what was going on didn’t seem to identify the real cause

• These become constrictors if left alone

What Leadership Face Are You

Wearing Today?• Visionary: Can take the most

insignificant situation and turn it into an opportunity.

• Manager: Creates order and focuses on the pragmatic systems and procedures that make the company run well.

• Specialist: Is action oriented and detail focused, driven to complete tasks and centers on results, not ideas.

Three Faces of A Leader

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Visionary

40%Manager

10%Specialis

Visionary

40%Manager

20%Specialis

Visionary10%

Manager60%

Specialist30%

Visionary10%

Manager70%

Specialist20%

Visionary

30%Manage

Specialist

Visionary

45%Manage

Specialist

Visionary

75%Manage

Specialist

The 27 Challenges Exercise

• Review results of Challenges/Strengths exercise

• Create discussion and get consensus

• Determine which issues should be noted for final initiatives

Top Business Challenges & Strengths

Strengths• Cash Flow• Limited Capital• Project Management• New Staff Orientation• Market Changes• Anticipating Problems

ChallengesCustomer MigrationEmployee TurnoverFlexible PlanningUnclear ValuesResistant to ChangeMarketing Position

Challenges By Stage of Growth

Stage 1 – 1 to 10 employees• Cash Flow• Destabilized by Chaos• Slow Product Development And

Getting to Market• Limited Capital to Grow• Improve Sales

Challenges by Stage of Growth

Stage 2 – 11 to 19 employees• Hiring Quality People• Improve Sales• Cash Flow• Leadership/Staff Gap• Limited Capital to Grow

Stage 3 – 20 to 34 employees• Staff Buy In• Leadership/Staff Gap• Weak Business Design• Core Values Unclear• Culture Resistant to Change

Stage 4 – 35 to 57 employees• Weak Project Management• Difficulty Diagnosing Problems• Employee Turn Over• Not Getting Systems in Place• Organization Uniformed About

Company Growth

Stage 5 – 58 to 95 employees• Improve Sales• Difficulty Forecasting Problems• Cost of Lost Expertise• Weak Business Design• Staff Training

Stage 6 – 96 to 160 employees• Staff Buy In• Staff Satisfaction/Profit

Relationship Not Seen• New Staff Orientation• Weak Business Design• Hiring Quality Staff

Stage 7 – 161 to 500 employees• Products Not Differentiated• Inadequate Profits• Slow Getting Offering to Market• Weak Business Design• Marketplace Changes Too Quickly

Builders and Protectors: How Is this Impacting Your

Growth?Builders: A Builder mindset

creates new ideas, takes on new initiatives, finds ways to expand the revenue and profitability of the enterprise. They are risk tolerant and highly supportive of growth.

Protectors: A Protector mindset is cautious and prefers to slow things down. They are risk adverse and highly suspicious of growth.

Builder/Protector Ratio Assessment

• Leadership

• Business Fundamentals

• Feeling Respected & Valued

• Implementing Change

• Innovation

• Team Maturity

Builder/Protector Ratios

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

B/P4:1

B/P3:1

B/P1:1

B/P3:2

B/P2:1

B/P3:1

B/P2:1

Leadership Rules of the Road

• Hidden in each person working at your company are answers to questions not yet asked.

• Start the dialogue that will uncover the questions so you can get to the answers.

Template for Initiatives

Action Steps Responsibility Start F o llo w -up

Capturing Initiatives

1. Improve Cash Flow

Action Steps Responsibility Start F o llo w -up

Change terms of payment CFO 08/ 10 08/ 12 08/ 20

Call all account in arrears Controller 08/ 15 08/ 16 08/ 20

Negotiate new terms with top suppliers Controller 09/ 01 09/ 02 09/ 10

Evaluate billing process on accounts over $100K Account Mgr 08/ 20 08/ 25 08/ 27

Evaluate sales process/ sales cycle – can this improve Sales Mgr 08/ 10 08/ 20 08/ 30

Communication Plan

• What needs to be communicated

• How will it be communicated

• Meeting protocol• What needs to be

transferred to who• How will you capture

• What does CEO know that others need to know

• What do Managers know that others need to know

• What do Staff know that others need to know

• What do Individual Teams know that others need to know

Know Where to Focus

Tune In to What Your Company is

Telling You

Tips on Applying What You Learned Today

• You can proactively manage growth• Apply a language of growth – start with

the 3 Gates of Focus• Recognize the Builder and the Protector

Mindset• Understand the leadership challenges

facing your managers• Tap into the intelligence of every single

person in the company

Key Messages

• The movement from one stage of growth to another begins as soon as you land in any stage of growth.

• What you don’t get done in a specific stage of growth DOES NOT GO AWAY.

• Time will make a difference.• If you aren’t growing you are dying.

Critical Initiatives

• Review the top 6 - 8• Determine who owns each one• Create milestones• Proactively manage your results

The 7 Stages of Entrepreneurial Growth

Revelations

• Write down 10 ideas you will walk away with from today’s session

• Share these with each other as you begin to understand how growth is impacting you

• Remember to take time to THINK about your business

11750 newton st. | westminster, co 80031 | 303-588-1286 | 1 ©2007 flashpoint! (company name)...

business slide

growth slide

business owner

business plan

companys growth

growth opportunities

growth curve

attitude slide

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