Growing Pains
March 2004
Let’s talk about success. We know that many new businesses fail in the first year, so there is a temptation to heave a large sigh of relief when we pass that marker, and relax. That’s good –you know I always recommend a sigh of relief after a large task or phase is completed. Keep it brief, though: now it’s time to focus on the next hurdle that takes down many small businesses – too-rapid growth.
Growth can have some definite downs. It can look like success, in the thrill of expanding, but beware if chaos takes over and customer service and satisfaction begin to slip. It can all be downhill from there.
The ‘normal’ pace of a new business is frequently what I call free-wheeling entrepreneurial. Everyone does everything – hats are not only multiple, but flying about the place. Roles shift and mutate, and if you need a form, you make one. When there are only four of you, you don’t wait for a job description to be written when the phone needs answering. Nor should you. And usually there hasn't been time to write a training manual/procedure for the phone system. So you’re stuck, and you do your best, and that works out fine for the most part.
When the business grows, you need to hire more people, and next thing you know, systems (or lack of them) start to get in the way. When there’s just a few of you, it’s easy for everyone to know where the fax cover sheet form is on the computer, and how to get it. Or perhaps everyone is using their own. (Most commonly, there is one, but whenever there aren’t any more next to the machine, people just scrawl one on a piece of scrap paper.)
As you get larger, it becomes important to have continuity in what you are doing. You start to want to have all correspondence looking the same. You don’t want everyone to be able to modify the fax form (or whatever) to their personal tastes. You also may not want everyone to have access to the fax machine. Perhaps it is an expensive copier/fax and you don’t want someone like me – hopeless with such machinery – to ruin it or cancel all the settings by mistake. At any rate, it’s now time for procedures, and conformity to some forms and ways of doing things. This is a difficult time for many organizations.
Some folks are cranky, because they thrived on free-style chaos, and they feel constrained by the new rules. “Why do we have to XYZ, anyway? We’ve done just fine without all those stupid rules ‘till now…” etc. I’m sure you’ve heard it before.
Conversely, those who have been less comfortable in the free-wheeling mode are now in their element. They are thrilled. They can also become supercilious and impossible: dreaming up rules and forms you don’t need yet or never will.
How do you manage this time? By paying attention. Notice when people are getting uncomfortable and cranky. Explain clearly why the business is changing modes. It helps enormously if you have built consistency in things like forms, paperwork, and procedures from the beginning. It’s easier to get everyone using a new form or procedure that is modified to meet current needs than it is to get them using one at all.
Another tried-and-true method is to involve folks in the change. If you say, “Here’s the new order form; you will use it or die”, you are going to get a very different response than if you say, “Our customers are having a hard time communicating orders clearly to us, and our inventory is getting chaotic. We need to look at other ways of doing this. I’ve developed a new order form, and I’d like to go through it with all of you. I’ll show you the changes I’ve made, and you tell me what I haven’t thought of”. The latter will get you much more buy-in from the troops. And – surprise surprise – they may even think of things you didn’t and improve it.
A note to new bosses – beware of changing everything when you arrive just to show how great you are or how much of a systems thinker you are. All you will do is royally tick everyone off. Wait and assess what really needs to be changed, and as always, involve folks in the change. Particularly if the last boss was well-thought of. Pick your battles, as they say!
Another difficult area of growth is staffing. Frequently, as your business grows, you will need to hire other positions that supervise staff you already have in place. In some cases, your current employees will resent this. Why should a stranger come in and tell them what to do, when they’ve been there since the beginning, and helped start the whole thing? While these feelings are natural, if that employee is not ready for the responsibility of managing, you must let them know, gently. If they are interested in doing so when they have more experience, find that out. Work with them on a career path that will give them those skills.
And, finally, involve them in the search for their boss. This can be as simple as having them review the applications for their input, all the way to involving them in the interview process. If people participate in hiring someone, they have a vested interest in that person succeeding. Otherwise, sabotage, conscious or unconscious, can be on the agenda. Whether or not that sabotage ‘succeeds’, it can be devastating to your business. I’ve seen terrifically competent people driven out of an organization, and it’s not a pretty sight. (Think birds pecking each other to death here…) It’s messy and destructive, and you want no part of it. If a valued employee, after you’ve followed all the steps I’ve outlined, is still on the sabotage path, remove them as soon as possible.
If you are attentive and smart about it, you and your best employees will grow together into a thriving concern. And that’s good business.
Ramona Abbott helps businesses maximize their efficiency, effectiveness and group dynamics. She utilizes proven techniques that are fun and affordable to help you improve your workplace in a variety of ways. She welcomes inquiries at 360-398-2606 or ramona@EssentiallyProfessional.com
(c)2003 Essentially Professional Website Design: Dedicated Designs