The following blog is from Darren Bosch of DeliberateU.
I smiled as I hung up the phone. I had just wrapped up a weekly coaching call with a business owner and his sales team. The call resulted in a number of clear actions for the team, reflecting a profound shift that had occurred within that business over the last couple of years.
That team had moved from…
Confusion to clarity on what's most important
Being barely profitable to enjoying significantly more predictable, healthy profit
A culture where it was hard to find and keep talented people, to a place where good people want to join, stay and grow
Relentless wear and tear on the leaders and the team, to far more ease with client-focused, user-friendly processes
Chasing any piece of business possible just to make the numbers for the week or month work, to now being booked almost 3 months out
Unhelpful reporting on sales, financials, and production to information that adds weekly value to the decision-making process of the leadership team.
I thought more about the very difficult work this business owner and his team had engaged in to reach this place. Without a doubt, this work is not for the faint of heart!!
What had this leader done to create the conditions for success now being enjoyed by the team?
7 GROWTH KEYS
Here are 7 key areas this owner relentlessly pressed into:
Personal Foundations:
Identity in Christ: learning how to abide well in Christ, so that experiencing Him was a key operating frame
Personal vision clarity: defining purpose, values, dreams, aspirations and a clear picture of the future
Clear Priorities: living out what was most important in each key area of his life
Business Vision Clarity: purpose, values, dreams, aspirations, and a clear picture of the future for his business, team, clients and the community impacted by them.
Leadership of People & Culture: leading in such a way that great people want to join, stay and grow with the team.
Sales & Marketing: creating a sustainable, predictable, profitable stream of revenue from ideal prospects that have become clients.
Business Focused Financials: clear leading indicators that help ensure the team delivers on the lagging quarterly and annual financial metrics.
Gettin’ It Done: Ensuring that pressure is applied in the right areas of the business at the right time, in the right way--a way that fully engages the team so that they are driving the improvements needed.
Kingdom Impact: Regular conversations and celebrations as the team, clients and suppliers experience more “good” being done. The owner sees and invites others into enjoying the impact of:
- Adding value to people’s lives (Mark 10:45 NLT)
- Christ’s love cascaded into every area that the business touches (Matt 22:38-40 NLT)
- Seeing people presented with more and more opportunities to grow (Matt 28:18-20 NLT)
The ease with which this owner and his team now operate is inspiring. The daily realities of his business continue to offer a multitude of challenges and surprises. However, it has been very much worth the journey!
Are you focusing on “the 7”? This owner is glad that he did.
A Deliberate Application:
- Review the 7 areas
- Which one would you say is weaker? Why?
- What may you be sensing God ask of you in light of your responses?
