by Peter Wolf.

Peter Wolf

Small business owners, companies of any size, corporations, share holders, investors, business leaders, law makers and politicians all have growth written on their banners and are measuring many of their daily activities by how much growth they can accomplish or have accomplished.

In a business environment growth is always part of the equation.

We have a saying in my old fatherland Germany that goes: “Stillstand ist Rueckschritt,” which basically translates to "standing still really means going backwards" and relates to the general rule that a business or company or even an economy needs to have at least a little growth per cycle. Of course, the larger growth is per cycle, the more successful a business is considered to be. Growth rates impact the value of a business or a company and the perception the market place has of a certain business, company, or brand.

The stock market, for instance, reacts very sensitively to news related to growth (or decline for that matter), which has led to some sort of growth megalomania in general. Often growth becomes the sole measurement for success or wealth. The problems start when we try to define growth and success by looking at revenue, income, profits and such factors that relate to money and capital without taking into consideration environmental, social, humanitarian and spiritual issues, which are always also impacted by growth.

I have a very basic view of what I think is important relating to growth.

To me, growth mainly stands for opportunities to increase the quality of how we’re dealing with people internally and externally. There are two main factors I consider important and I am always trying to keep these in the fore front of my thinking when making decisions or considering growth related topics:

Opportunities

Problems and logistics

These two are connected and should never be separated from each other. From my own experience in owning and running businesses, I know that with every new level of accomplishment, with every arrival at the next level, we are dealing with a different set of problems. It’s one thing to run an organization of 20 people. It’s a very different task to run an organization of 100, 200 or 1,000 people. It’s one thing to manufacture 10 guitars per day, it’s a different task to manufacture 65 per day while maintaining the same quality level or even improving it.

The logistical implications change exponentially from one level to the next. At the same time, growth allows smart and wise business leaders to increase their networks significantly and to bringing additional people into the network. It also helps to increase career opportunities inside the organization and, last but not least, to share increasing profits with a larger group of people. The way I envision the business world is that growth should always be synonymous with sharing.

I believe that if sharing is the basic concept, any organization can only become stronger and more successful and as a result, will ultimately grow. Sharing is not only meant in a material or monetary way. I understand sharing as an opportunity to share responsibilities, insights, information and ultimately success.

Opportunities

Increasing product offerings creates opportunities, which usually lead to more sales and market share. Please refer to my previous article about bringing a new model to market (link). It also usually increases revenue, which allows certain budgets to be re-set or increased, mostly leading to additional hires.

Problems and logistics

The governing line is: “We can’t grow beyond our ability to stay organized,” which deals with the logistical implications of growth. In the transitional phases more work needs to be taken care of and more errors are likely to happen. Employees and customers may sometimes become frustrated. Such symptoms may actually slow down growth, but they can usually be minimized through proper planning.

There are many examples of companies with good products, good personnel, solid financing and good market share and so forth, who have been trying to grow too fast and by trying to do so, have disregarded the logistical and managerial implications. When that happens, chaos and frustration take over and the quality of products may decrease as a result. Real and sustained growth becomes unlikely or will at least be delayed.

Management plays an important role in achieving growth. If the structure and the players are essentially in place, proper management can make the difference in achieving goals faster.

From a managerial point of view, the most important question to ask is: What can we do to help our employees to do their job better and what do they need from us? The assessment of jobs and tasks requires time, insights, experience and a proper education (usually considered smart management) to come to conclusions and make the right decisions in a timely fashion.

Growth always brings additional work although it doesn’t necessarily occur initially in every corner of the company or business. It is therefore very important to plan and prepare for the logistical impact before the next growth phase.

We have certainly grown nicely throughout the past 20 years but have struggled with these issues as much as everyone else.

The next 18 months will be crucial as we are moving forward to complete the new building, implement new designs, and integrate new products into the manufacturing process. I’m looking forward to these challenges and hope that we will be making good decisions to benefit our employees, vendors, customers and the market place as a whole.