When a Business Reaches an Inflection Point
Change is a Challenge.
It doesn't matter if the change is good for us. Our first reaction is often to wonder why things can't just stay the way they are. Who Moved My Cheese? made that point pretty well.
I've seen, and lived, the same thing in business, leaning on what is familiar, and what has been proven to work and historically effective.
A company grows. Adds people. Opens locations. Takes on new customers. Makes an acquisition. And then the realization that the business has really changed.
But oftentimes the way we operate often doesn't change with it, and sometimes even the awareness of the need for operational change doesn’t prompt action.
What worked at $10 million may not work at $25 million. Owners can't be involved in every decision. Processes that once worked well may now slow people down.
Good people may be spending too much time working around the system instead of working on the business. Of course, none of that means the business is in trouble.
It may mean it's just time to do some things differently.
I've always enjoyed that part of operating a business, finding more effective alternative ways of doing things.
Figuring out what needs to change, what doesn't, and how to get people comfortable with moving forward.
I'm curious by nature. I like asking questions, getting close to the operation and understanding how things really work.
That's probably why I've spent most of my career as an operator, obsessed with continuous improvement.
I'm interested in working with a few companies that are at an inflection point, businesses with good people, good customers and good opportunities that may need to adjust operations to take the next step.
If that's where you are, I'd enjoy a conversation.
Maybe I can help, or offer a different perspective.
Either way, it's always worth a conversation.
