Dollars & Commonsense – Ten Tips for growth
After 20 years leading and founding businesses and philanthropic organisations in Australia and around the world, corporate, leadership and media industry entrepreneur, Clive Burcham, is passionate about helping others succeed and be their best in business. As Founder of Compadres, a partnership for change for C-Suites and Founders, Clive takes a philosophical approach to optimise leaders, grow their companies, and their teams.
Below Clive shares his advice for leaders and future leaders heading into the second half of 2024 to ensure you are at your peak, when working at the peak…
The bad things in people’s lives
happen because of what they do on their peaks & the good things
in people’s lives happen because of
what they do in their valleys.
– Peaks and Valleys,
Spencer Johnson
I love this quote. It means so many things; I could have saved more, spent less, invested more, looked after that client relationship more, pitched here, not there, tried that little bit harder, innovated that widget…
With tough economic headwinds expected over the next six months, below are 10 things you can do right now to make sure you’re at your peak when you return to the peak. Booyah.
Butcher for Growth: Slice and Dice unnecessary expenses. It feels great to let go of subscriptions, consolidate expenses, sell crap on gumtree, ditch distractions…and hope! (Hope, you want me to give up hope..?).
- That means energy zappers too. If people aren’t bringing their A Games, ideas and being an undeniable contribution. Bye bye.
- Don’t confuse being busy with success. Each Monday, ask yourself: What can you cut from your day to day, week to week that will have you focussed on growth? Also, my favorite: what can you “Delegate to Elevate”. This helps to empower you to focus, and others to step up with a sense of pride.
- Remove distractions, Anything that doesn’t spark joy, add value, is no longer used or loved or adds to the feeling of being disorganised. Caio. #gumtree
- Hope: stop crossing your fingers for that turnaround in revenue whilst carrying expenses you can’t afford (usually means staff). Gardeners, prune to grow!
Optimise Cash Flow: Stay on top of receivables and negotiate favourable terms. Be aware of “watch out” industries. Let’s say, “construction”.
Prioritise Client Relationships: It’s all about THEM! Focus on retaining and satisfying current clients. Get into their worlds. Find out what they need and help them (across business, personal and professional). They need to feel the similar levels of love and attention from you that they do from a relative.
Market You: Stay visible and engage with your network regularly. LinkedIn, (most of us have covered), PR, events, socials, opinion pieces, 5 face to face catch ups per week, pick up the darn phone. see #4
Be Proactive:
- Pursue dormant clients. You have a 50% chance of converting an existing or past client versus 10% of luring a new client.
- Meetings create ideas: So many of my Compadres are doing so many cool things! I always encourage people to get out there and share that exciting project, or discovery ….you will inspire others.
- Investigate what other people are doing. A great collaboration is just around the corner. 1 + 1 = 3. (see #9).
- Offer rewards for referrals too. See #1.
RePosition:
- Your positioning and strategy from six months ago is toast. Time to hit the whiteboard.
- Often businesses are so fascinated by their inward facing mechanisms (themselves); “our ground breaking process”, which is often too complex to explain, and not client outcome focused. It’s simple, “We will make a difference to your business”. Kaching
- Be easy to buy.
Innovate for the Future and Agility now: “Necessity is the mother of all invention”. With the right people in the room, you can create a new product and upload it to your website, blog about it in a day….and you can change it tomorrow if it’s crap.
- Develop new products and services to adapt to market changes (see #2 and #4) . So many businesses have unrealised assets in their people, in that “People create futures”. This could mean, workshopping problems to create ideas, and certainly by productising your business in a more simple, buyable way.
- You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” said James Clear. What systems and processes can you revisit and redevelop to win you that 1% gain. Ai!
To Pitch or Not to Pitch: This is a hot debate right now. My view is; pitches are a waste of time, often for the indecisive or process heavy big corporates. In the ideal world:
- meet us,
- look at our creds
- case studies
- talk to past and existing clients.
But, if you can’t manage that, Be selective in pitching. Don’t waste time with faffers. Ask pitching clients the hard questions. *always prioritize existing relationships.
Collaboration: One way to measure your progress in life is by noting the amount of quality collaborations you have going on. Staff. Partners. Clients. Bring people together (in the office), get everyone focussed on the future. Meeting people in your industry and outside it too. So many people need what you have. Bring all round Goodvibes. See #2
People: Invest in talent with the right mindset and cost-efficiency in mind. People are less expensive now. If they are a maybe, they are a NO.
Either way, as the opening quote says. What you choose to do now will have its greatest effect on that peak in future. It’s an opportunity.
The greatest stories of transformation are rarely solo adventures. Find the people who have the map; the ones who’ve done it before (like me).
#compadres #wearecompadres #potential #business #leadership #leader #founder #startup #entrepreneur #partner #goals #success #creative #GoalsMadeReal #consultancy #coach #mentor #compadrescampfire
