Whether you are a start-up, have been in business for a few years, or are looking for ways to re-ignite growth, you need to “rightsize” your company.
Our definition for rightsizing is literal—perhaps better said, it would be “bestsizing” for your market goals. It’s certainly not the euphemistic drivel we hear from executives and consultants who would rather not say they are firing people and choose words like: reengineer or downsize. This distorts the meaning of the word rightsize.
Rightsizing, done right– is matching the workforce with the workload; it is also insuring that the proper infrastructure is in place to support growth: people, processes and technology.
Company growth curves hit a point where the company can continue to grow, or it can (and likely will if not attended to), stop growing. We refer to these points as “inflection points” on the business growth curve. For example, a first inflection point we often find is the need to have internal controls such as financial reporting so that real numbers drive business decisions for growth. (That includes a Balance Sheet, Income and Cash Flow statements as a minimum.) Inflection points also commonly include refinement of the sales, marketing and branding initiatives, and customer fulfillment to support sales. There are other “inflection points” as the business continues to grow. Inflection points can also include a re-examination and a refashioning of the company culture from where it started (perhaps as an informal lifestyle company) to the need for a refined culture to ensure alignment for delivery of a new and greater continuum of services.
One thing is certain about your business – it will always be in a state of change. It will either be growing, or it will be shrinking, as status quo only lasts for so long. You can either wash up or rise with the tide.
Copyright 2011 Kubica and LaForest
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