Business Growth Cycles

All contractors go through different stages of growth. While these stages are well-studied and predictable they are not black and white nor are they easy to manage through.

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Each stage of growth requires rigorous evaluation and adjustments to these four areas:

Business Growth Cycles. All Business Experience It.
  1. Re-Evaluation of Market Focus: Will our current customers and geography provide the stability and returns we are looking for at the next stage of growth throughout the inevitable economic cycles?
  2. Organizational Structure: Stages of growth are all associated with the need to insert another layer of management.
  3. Operational Processes: With the growth and changes in organizational structures the workflows, tools used and processes will need to be refined or changed all together.
  4. Leadership Focus: Most importantly the leadership focus and supporting systems including communications and compensation has to change to support each stage of growth.

With proactive leadership you can grow at a sustainable rate minimizing the variability on profit growth and stress levels on the team. Perspective is difficult for everyone when they are in the middle of a growth stage and especially if you have never been through this stage of growth before. 

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