TALK ADVICE MARSTAN GROUP
Supercharging your business Director of the Marstan Group, Stan Hornagold, says every business can boost performance and profit substantially by making a series of changes in the right order usiness owners and managers are full of energy and commitment, but the majority know instinctively that their business is nowhere near its full potential. They are also astute enough to realise that it cannot simply be explained by current economic conditions, because they can see that 5% of businesses do extraordinarily well during a recession. A Government Survey revealed that 51% of businesses acknowledged that they needed to increase leadership skills, 61% aimed to increase productivity and 66% needed to up-skill their workforce. The survey also revealed that only 33% of businesses thought that the state of the economy was an obstacle to their success. These statistics are very encouraging, because they reveal that your business is not at the mercy of external events. There are plenty of actions that you can take to protect your business from negative forces and ensure that you can generate more profit. The statistics also explain why some businesses do better than others during a recession. Successful organisations
B
134
focus on their customers and potential customers. They do not look outwards in the hope that the world will change to suit them. Instead, they constantly look for ways to improve things to enhance the quality of their service or the efficiency of their processes. As a result, these superbusinesses constantly fire on all cylinders. They concentrate on points of detail so that they win profitable business with apparent ease and manage their operations efficiently so that they do not waste their hardearned income. The inevitable result is that their profits are consistently higher than those of the average business. At first glance it would appear that there is a huge gulf between the best and the rest, but in reality it does not take a vast amount of effort to change a business for the better. Neither does it have to be done all at once, or take forever to achieve. So how can you supercharge your business? The best way is to understand how supersuccessful businesses got to where they are and resolve to develop the same attitudes and processes, suitably adapted to your own business.
At first glance it would appear that there is a huge gulf between the best and the rest
THE 10-POINT PLAN FOR SUPERCHARGING YOUR BUSINESS Among the hundreds of activities that you will have to deal with in managing your business, there are 10 points above all others that will help you to deliver the best results. 1. You need a vision and strategy – there is a much better chance of you getting to your destination and reaching your “full potential” if you know exactly where you’re going. 2. You need a business plan this sets out how you will implement your strategy and makes sure that you
in profile Stan Hornagold has managed his own businesses for more than 30 years and has specialised in helping businesses and public sector bodies to change their organisations and processes for the better.
AUGUST 2013
134_135 COMMERCIAL Marstan Group.ga.indd 40
26/07/2013 11:08