Resolve Your Hidden Conflicts And

Grow Your Business

By Vinay Kulkarni

Resolve Your Hidden Conflicts And

Your Business

By Vinay Kulkarni

Remember, your ultimate goal is to - Grow Your Business Grow Your Business AND Live Your Dream!

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Every so often I run into a business that screams “GROWTH POTENTIAL!”, but when the owners reveal that the business has been around for 20 years I find myself asking, “Why aren’t they living the lifestyles of their dreams already?”many reasons why a company might not grow to realize its potential, but there are two reasons that stand out in my mind as fixable:

Why aren’t you living your dream already?

reasons that stand out in my mind as fixable:

• Conflicting priorities • Conflicting metrics

Simply put, many underachieving businesses suffer from conflicting priorities and conflicting metrics, and those conflicts decrease the performance of the business.will examine the “diseases” of the conflicting priorities and conflicting metrics through the life of “John, the business owner.”

Every so often I run into a business that screams “GROWTH POTENTIAL!”, but when the owners reveal that the business has been around for 20 years I find myself asking, “Why aren’t they living the lifestyles of their dreams already?” Of course, there can be many reasons why a company might not grow to realize its potential, but there are two reasons that stand out in my mind as fixable:

Why aren’t you living your dream already?

reasons that stand out in my mind as fixable:

Simply put, many underachieving businesses suffer from conflicting priorities and conflicting metrics, and those conflicts decrease the performance of the business. We will examine the “diseases” of the conflicting priorities and conflicting metrics through

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The disease of conflicting priorities• John & Co. has come a long way from its humble origins as a one

ago. It has become an organization of 30 employees and the organization has its own needs and places growing demands on John’s time and attention. On a personal level, John has reached the point where he desires more personal time; a chance to enjoy the lifestyle that he has worked so hard towards achieving. While getting the business to this point has taken 20 has worked so hard towards achieving. While getting the business to this point has taken 20 years of his life, it still is not where he wanted it to be and clearly he has more thinking and planning to do.

• In search of a solution, John sits down with a business advisor and tells a story filled with contradictions and conflicts that John can only sense but the advisor can clearly see.

• “I am 100% committed to taking this business to the next level.takes,” he tells his advisor. “I need to spend more time with my family. My children are grown and I missed so much of their childhood. My wife wants more of my time and we always planned to travel once the children moved out. I am eager to see all that happen,” he adds.

The disease of conflicting prioritiesJohn & Co. has come a long way from its humble origins as a one-man business 20 years ago. It has become an organization of 30 employees and the organization has its own needs and places growing demands on John’s time and attention. On a personal level, John has reached the point where he desires more personal time; a chance to enjoy the lifestyle that he has worked so hard towards achieving. While getting the business to this point has taken 20 has worked so hard towards achieving. While getting the business to this point has taken 20 years of his life, it still is not where he wanted it to be and clearly he has more thinking and

In search of a solution, John sits down with a business advisor and tells a story filled with contradictions and conflicts that John can only sense but the advisor can clearly see.

“I am 100% committed to taking this business to the next level. I am willing to do what it takes,” he tells his advisor. “I need to spend more time with my family. My children are grown

My wife wants more of my time and we always planned to travel once the children moved out. I am eager to see all that happen,” he adds.

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Conflicting Priorities In 2008 John and his company suffered from the conflicts listed in the Priority Table below.

E.g. John’s current needs

The needs of John’s people

Quarter1 More vacation More facewith you

Quarter2 More time with More trainingQuarter2 More time with family

More training

Quarter3 More time for skiing

Better tools

Quarter4 Time to train for the marathon

Guidance & handholding

In each case John made a choice that reinforced the conflicts instead of removing them, and as a result his company continues to exist in a state of unrealized potential. will be able to relate to John and his company. If your company is faced with similar conflictswould like to grow your business while living your dream, ask yourself and your core team this question, “What is the next action step that we can take that will remove our conflicts?”

Use the priority table as a template to guide your decision making and make decisions that remove conflicts

Conflicting Priorities IllustratedIn 2008 John and his company suffered from the conflicts listed in the Priority Table below.

The needs of John’s people

The needs of John’s business

Action Step

More face-time Overseas partnerships

?

More training Better ?More training Better infrastructure

?

Better tools Investment in skill building

?

Guidance & hand- Investment in external help

?

In each case John made a choice that reinforced the conflicts instead of removing them, and as a result his company continues to exist in a state of unrealized potential. Many of you reading this article will be able to relate to John and his company. If your company is faced with similar conflicts and you would like to grow your business while living your dream, ask yourself and your core team this question, “What is the next action step that we can take that will remove our conflicts?”

Use the priority table as a template to guide your decision making and make decisions that remove conflicts

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The disease of conflicting metricsIn a typical organization there are four different types of metrics at play:

• Personal metrics (hidden) - what the business owner uses as a measure of her own success

• Stated metrics - what the business owner tell

• Business metrics - measures that reflect the ability of the business to meet its needs and positively impact profit

• Implied metrics (hidden) - what the business owner or leader employees through words or actions

The disease of conflicting metricsIn a typical organization there are four different types of metrics at play:

what the business owner uses as a measure of her own success

tells her people they are being measured upon

measures that reflect the ability of the business to meet its customers’

what the business owner or leader unconsciously conveys to her

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Conflicting Metrics IllustratedBusiness Area Personal Metrics Stated Metrics

Retail part of John’s Business

The “upscale look” of the store

Ensure the retail end is operating “smoothly”

Web part of John’s Business

Upscale design of the website

Number of hits on website

If John wants his profit to grow, then he must align his metrics first behind the business metrics.

In John & Co.’s business these four types of metrics listed in the Metrics Table are not aligned.

Metrics IllustratedStated Metrics Business

MetricsImplied Metrics

Ensure the retail end is operating “smoothly”

Net profit Move customers through the store as quickly as possible

Number of hits on Conversion from hits into customers

Customers being “impressed” with the website design

If John wants his profit to grow, then he must align his metrics first behind the business

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In John & Co.’s business these four types of metrics listed in the Metrics Table are not aligned.

Conflicting Metrics Illustrated

• John derives a sense of pride and accomplishment (personal metrics) from investing in furniture and fixtures that give an upscale look to his store.

• He has instructed his retail manager to ensure the retail area runs “smoothly.”

• On the retail floor the emphasis is on processing customers through the store as quickly as possible rather than ensuring each customer’s needs are met before he or she leaves the store.

• Yet, every week John looks at his profit from the retail area and is disappointed to see that it is not growing.

Conflicting Metrics Illustrated

John derives a sense of pride and accomplishment (personal metrics) from investing in furniture and fixtures that give an upscale look to his store.

He has instructed his retail manager to ensure the retail area runs “smoothly.”

On the retail floor the emphasis is on processing customers through the store as quickly as possible rather than ensuring each customer’s needs are met before he or she leaves the

Yet, every week John looks at his profit from the retail area and is disappointed to see that it is

Does your business suffer from the disease of conflicting metrics?

If your business suffers from the misalignment of these four metrics, the If your business suffers from the misalignment of these four metrics, the “pressing questions” that you should ask yourself are,

•“What are the key metrics that drive the growth of

•“What metrics should I use to measure my

Does your business suffer from the disease of conflicting metrics?

business suffers from the misalignment of these four metrics, the business suffers from the misalignment of these four metrics, the “pressing questions” that you should ask yourself are,

“What are the key metrics that drive the growth of my business?” and

“What metrics should I use to measure my personal success?”

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Success Dashboard: For Your Business

Year Profit (Business Metric)

# of Vacation Days (Personal Metric)

2008 $500,000 7

2009 $1,000,000 28

If you succeed in eliminating the two types of conflicts I have talked about here, then your success dashboard might look like this.

Success Dashboard: For Your Business

# of Vacation Days Customer Satisfaction (Stated Metric)

Customers Surprised & Delighted (Implied Metric)

94% 2%

98% 20%

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If you succeed in eliminating the two types of conflicts I have talked about here, then your success dashboard might look like this.

Remember, your ultimate goal is to - Grow Your Business Grow Your Business AND Live Your Dream!

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If would like to learn how to identify and resolve your hidden conflicts, call me, Vinay Kulkarni or Leamon Crooms on 1

You can also email us at: vkulkarni@stratgrow.com or lcrooms@stratgrow.com

www.stratgrow.com

If would like to learn how to identify and resolve your hidden conflicts, call me, Vinay Kulkarni or Leamon Crooms on 1-800-720-6947

You can also email us at: vkulkarni@stratgrow.com or lcrooms@stratgrow.com

www.stratgrow.com