The majority of businesses fail to grow, observes Verne Harnish, writing for Fortune. But although most are only small ventures, unlikely to become the next Google or Amazon, there is still plenty of potential going to waste.
According to Harnish, to become a thriving, mid-market company, it is necessary to overcome the following three barriers to growth:
1) The inability of the CEO to let go. The author comments: “Either the owner thinks he’s the only person capable of getting things done or tried to delegate once but got burned by a bad hire and can’t trust anyone again.”
2) Not spending enough. It’s important to do everything on a tight budget in the startup phase, but eventually you have to invest in your business or you won’t achieve growth.
3) Failing to adjust to market dynamics. If your business takes off and starts to grow, you will be faced with more competition.
You could encounter copycats who use your business model or offer similar products or services. Bigger companies might feel threatened by your presence in the marketplace and try to knock you down so you don’t steal their share.
Also, more customers means more pressure on your resources to keep them happy.
Harnish comments: “Your job as CEO is coming up with the right strategy to keep growing and to adapt it to changing market conditions. It’s only when you are willing to adjust your mindset that your company will be able to grow.”