Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Managing Growth Businesses

I am still in China. The photograph is a scale model of a factory complex. They use the scale model to do the tour since the facilities are too large to tour. (I thought the same about our new Guelph warehouse but we did a DVD instead).

The one pictured employs 8000 employees include dormitories, police, hospital (more of an infirmary), - even a firetruck. These factories are small self contained villages.

Certainly a fascinating cultural experience.






I recently read, Managing Business Growth: Get a Grip on the Numbers That Count by Angie Mohr. The title certainly attracts ones interest. I love growth and I understand the need to "get a grip on the right numbers". This is one thing SYNNEX has taught me well.





This is a simple short read intended for a start-up business. It has been a long time since I have done my own start-up and most of the examples used are about tremendously small businesses and start ups.





Because the book is so easy to use, I would still recommend it to any start-up entrepreneur.

There was a good section on mission statements that said the following. Mission statements should be:

1 - Measurable. You need to be able to determine if the goals are being met on a regular basis.

2 - Challenging. The goals should be a stretch to reach, but not unrealistic or unattainable.

3 -Focused. You will be using the mission statement to make operational and strategic decision in your business so the goals need to be sharply focused.

4 - Flexible. The goals should allow for individual interpretation within the framework originally envisioned.

5 - Clear. One of the most important facets of the mission statement is its ability to be explained and understood by everyone in the organization. Therefore the goals should be easy to understand and not marred with "business speak."

6 - Appropriate. The goals in the mission statement must work towards achievement of the vision statement. If the mission statement is not in perfect alignment with the vision statement, the overall goals will not be achieved and the business will be dysfunctional.

3 Comments:

At 6:05 AM, Blogger Ian about Leadership said...

Do you have any examples

And

Have you read good to great?

 
At 10:40 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

A great list! I think these 6 items can be applied to goals in general and not just mission statements.

 
At 2:34 PM, Blogger Boom said...

Jim,
In my experience, the overriding purpose for a mission statement is to give continued guidance for those who will be required to act in the absence of someone who is going to tell them how and why, where and what...which and when. The mission statement should provide the COMMANDER's INTENT...sort of a "when the smoke clears, this is what the 'battlefield' should look like" and then the leaders of people, projects, intiatives and ideas within the organization may act in support of the organization's goals and objectives. COMMAND LEADERSHIP, we call this. And it is not just for military units. Of course- the mission statement must be SMART (SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT and TIME BOUND) among other things.

Good post Jim E.

sf and check six,

Boom Daniel
610 704 1232
http://checksixtv.googlepages.com

 

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