Do you want your company to thrive? Do you want your company to grow? These may seem like silly questions, but for some, the answer is no. For whatever reason, some business owners are happy not driving growth. Perhaps they’re content where they are and aren’t motivated to move forward. Or maybe they want to grow and thrive, but they lack the experience and tools to bring their dreams to fruition.
Since you’re reading this blog, my guess is you’re among those always driving growth in your company. But to make your business thrive, you need to focus on the following areas at least 80 percent of the time.
Educate Yourself
Few people read after they leave college, but if you research the world’s richest people, you’ll find that they read all the time. As a result, they’re constantly learning. As advancements in all areas of life continue to make changes in the way we as entrepreneurs run our businesses, it’s important that we keep up. Over the last few years, I’ve often told my team that I’m not yet the CEO to lead our company 12 months from now. But I’m committed to becoming that CEO. To do this, I read nine books each quarter, participate in two mastermind groups, and attend numerous conferences throughout the year.
The more interested you are in driving growth, the more important educating yourself to be a better leader becomes.
Set The Vision To Drive Growth
It’s your job to set the vision for the company. What will your business look like three, five, or even 10 years from now? What new products or strategies will you develop? How will the culture develop at your company? You’re the only person who can answer these questions — this task can’t be delegated. If you don’t lead the charge, your company will go nowhere fast. So take some time to set and manage the long term, 3–10 year vision for your company.
Create The Strategy
As CEO, you have to help develop the strategy to make your vision become a reality. You may not need to be an expert in all strategic areas. But you do need to be involved in the planning and approval process for anything that affects the long-term vision of the company. This includes items like goal-setting, company culture, sales and marketing, etc.
Watch Your Cash
Your most important job as CEO is to make sure you never run out of money. This may seem like a no-brainer, but so few people have a handle on the financial aspect of their business. Even if you have a CFO, it’s still your job to make sure you never run out of cash.
You can spend the remaining 20 percent of your month in the day-to-day work of the business or being the celebrity spokesman for the company. You can spend it hanging with the team or creating content. But the more you can live and manage the above four areas, the more you’ll drive growth, and in most cases, the happier you’ll be.
