Growth Ideas In Times of Economic Uncertainty

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The normal reaction of businesses during times of economic uncertainty is to pull back, spend less, and wait things out. But instead of adding fuel to the economic "death spiral," smart business leaders see this time as one of increased resolve, focus and determination. They are wisely using this time as a strategic planning platform for future growth.

Rather than singing the blues, many local companies are charging hard on their strategy and execution, focusing their energies and resources to hit their objectives.

During times of economic uncertainty, strategy refinement and execution need to become the top priority for business leaders.

How to start? Begin by doing a SWOT Analysis. SWOT is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in your business. The aim is to identify key internal and external factors for achieving your strategy.

Internal Factors - These are the strengths and weaknesses that are internal to the organization. They are internal because they can be controlled by your company. The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses, depending upon their impact on the organization's objectives. The factors may include personnel, finance, service and/or manufacturing capabilities, unique market differentiators - client types, pricing, brand awareness, market share, geographic coverage.

External Factors - These are the opportunities and threats presented by the external environment. The external factors may include the economy, technological change, legislation, and socio-cultural changes, as well as changes in your marketplace or competitive position.

As a result of conducting a SWOT analysis, you'll be in a better position to assess opportunities to pursue now, as well as those during the next wave of economic growth. The point is - don't wait - consider one or more of these growth ideas listed below now, and you'll be in a better position than your competitors:

1. Introduce new products or services to current customers
2. Cross-sell existing products or services to current customers
3. Sell existing products or services to new markets/customers
4. Increase the volume of sales of existing products to existing customers - volume discounts, rebates
5. Work to become the single provider of a product or service for a customer, if not in that position today
6. Eliminate low-growth/slow growth products and services from your portfolio - they are a drag on your resources
7. Anticipate changing customer needs/wants (for the next wave)
8. Track your competitor's reactions and activities
9. License your product or service
10. Franchise your product or service
11. Set up strategic alliances or partnerships
12. Globalize your product or service

Now narrow your list. You can not do 10 or 20 things - at least not well. Use a sorting process we call the 100-Point exercise. Gather your leadership team to perform this exercise. In essence you give each voting member 100 points or votes to place on the items they see as most important. I like to work in 20 point increments hence only giving each person a maximum of 5 votes (100/20 = 5). This really makes you focus on the top items and eliminate the so-so ideas. Once everyone has voted, tally the top vote getters. Now you have narrowed the list. Once you've decided on which of these growth ideas to pursue, refine your organization's strategy accordingly, and execute on it using the following process:

Maintain focus on clear goals during times of upheaval.
Assign clear roles and accountability, enabling employees to understand their jobs and giving them the power to get them done.
Establish a sense of urgency to ensure the organization stays on track and achieves its goals.
Establish a climate in which employees are confident to act on ideas, using both recognition and reward, not a stick.
Actively encourage experimentation to drive learning -- even in a down economy -- and recognize that experimentation and innovation will include failures.
Encourage a profound curiosity about your customer's needs - which ones are being met and which are not.

To recap, use these times of economic uncertainty wisely. Focus on the internal activities and results you can measure and have an impact upon. Continue to execute your strategic plan, and look for appropriate activities to "stop doing" (that don't negatively impact your strategic vision.) Use this time to grow the business, not to hunker down.

Eric Kurjan is the President of Six Disciplines Ohio Group. Six Disciplines brings "big company" process improvement to a select group of smaller organizations. For more information visit www.SixDisciplines.com/Cleveland, or call 419-581-2823.