5 Game Changing Strategies for Business Success
In recent months, I was fortunate enough to be named as a finalist in the 2019 EY Entrepreneur of The Year awards. During the process, I was forced to spend time thinking about what has contributed to the success of my current business and isolating which of those things were actual ‘game changers’.
1. Finding my tribe
Back in 2012, I joined a global organisation called Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO). Back then my business was only 3 years old and was definitely in the start-up phase. Joining EO enabled me to find my tribe and surround myself with people who were successful in business, had similar interests to me and who wanted me to succeed.
I am still a member of EO today and attribute a large part of my success to the people I have met, the connections I have made, and the learnings I have gleaned through engaging with the organisation and other members.
2. Kaizen
Nothing is ever perfect in business, there are always ways to improve. I try and do at least one small thing every single day to improve the business. Over time, small improvements provide huge gains.
The small improvements that have had the most profound improvement in the business have invariably been people related; always recruiting better people and learning from past experiences. Also, allowing people to show how capable they are and improve their element of the business.
3. Attitude
My favourite quote is from Winston Churchill; “Pessimists see the problem in every opportunity. Optimists see the opportunity in every problem”.
Surrounding myself with positive, ‘can-do’ people and removing ‘energy suckers’ has allowed me to enjoy the journey and learn a huge amount from those around me.
4. Outside help
I cannot stress how important it is to get help, advice and coaching from external people. Even just chatting to people has helped me come up with business-changing strategies. I remember an off-the-cuff conversation with another tech CEO about creating a ‘black-box’ for our data that totally changed my business.
Because of this one conversation, I looked at our processes and invested in developing software that profoundly changed the way we do business.
5. Investment
Investing in the best people, systems that work, processes that create a more efficient workforce, marketing, personal and professional development.
So many people are always watching the pennies. To be successful in business, you need to invest your money and time to facilitate growth.
There are obviously lots of other things that have contributed to the past decade of growth and success. However, if you surround yourself with great people, make an effort at continual improvement, have a positive can-do attitude, listen and learn from others and invest in yourself and your business, you will certainly be on the right path.