Hitting Pause

Before we talk about what to do next, let’s remember what we’ve just learned: a plateauing business is not a failure. The symptoms and root causes I spoke about last week is: feedback. When the wheels start wobbling, financially, operationally, culturally, the survival instinct is to press on harder. What we’ve seen is that growth without foundation leads to exhaustion, not evolution.

If you have ever read Shoe Dog (and if you haven’t please do as it is one of the best books I have ever read) you’ll recall that Phil Knight, Nike Founder, revealed that Nike’s growth actually outpaced its systems, and despite all the outside apparent success, they couldn’t keep up with inventory and delivery. Despite it’s sales Nike was “growing broke”.  What Knight then did was, paused. Slowed the expansion. Cut back on risk. Rebuilt supply chains, restructured financing, and made the painful shift from startup chaos to disciplined operator.

“It was never just about growing,  It was about staying in the game long enough to become what we were meant to be.”  Phil Knight – Shoe Dog

What Does Stabilisation Look Like 

Trim Excess

• Let go of low margin clients and service lines
• Cut costs to reduce inefficient spend
• Trim employee numbers back in line with the rebuilt business offerings
• Build in margin and time for recovery and change

Clarify what your offer is

• Focus on what is profitable and energising and in demand
• Define your ideal client that best needs your sweet spot work

Get the right Foundation

• Delegate properly, not desperately
• Map roles, processes, systems for maximum efficiency
• Define responsibilities, dependencies and accountability

Reconnect with your Team

• Share your vision coherently
• Clarify expectations and roles
• Lead and invite ownership and enthusiasm 

Diagnosis is itself a Strategy

Nike is an amazingly successful  company and synonymous with style, trend, quality, chosen by the most popular sports stars.  But Nike hit a plateau.  If you have diagnosed a plateau, this isn’t a setback, its a moment to get clarity.  So the best action you can take, after diagnosis, like diagnosis of any health issues with your own body, is to take action and not to ignore.

Summary

Reaching a business plateau and deciding to shrink back to enable more sustainable growth in the future is not a statement of failure.  It’s a chance to let go of complexity, rebuild with visibility and reinvest in your core business.  Next week, I will close this series on business lifecycles, by looking at what regrowth looks like when it’s intentional, and why Version 2.0 of your business might just be the best version yet!

Until then, here’s the question to reflect on:  Having read this What’s one thing you need to stop doing to start growing the right way again?