Do you feel as if your business has become increasingly time-consuming or difficult to manage? If so, you might be experiencing too much growth. PADGETT BUSINESS SERVICES®, your small business financial services provider, continues its series on the indicators that your business has grown too large too quickly. Continue reading for more warning signs and plans of actions to correct this issue.
Warning Sign 3: Antiquated Or Vague Mission Statement
When a business is in its early days, it has a clear and focused mission statement that drives the company forward and induces growth. However, when a business becomes too big to manage, it can lose sight of its original mission statement and take more of a broad approach. In this case, the mission statement is so vague and nondescript that it does nothing to further growth and just results in confusion. A worse alternative is when a company grows beyond its original mission statement, but does not create a new one that accurately reflects the current business objectives. The company may grow in number of employees, but it will shrink within its market due to a failure to evolve.
Plan of Action: Review the company’s mission statement regularly and make all business decisions only after asking how this particular decision fits into the company’s mission.
Warning Sign 4: Everyone Is Not On Board
One of the main consequences of a vague mission statement, a poor infrastructure and a lack of focused products and services is a lapse in company culture. Successful organizations have a clear culture that exemplifies their brand. A clear sense of belonging is a key motivator for most employees, as it gives them an identity to represent. On the other hand, a vague company culture that is motivated only by the bottom line makes it hard to decipher what is valued and what is not. This can alienate employees from the company’s goals and prevent them from truly doing their jobs.
Plan of Action: Culture is not something that can be adjusted immediately. However, there are some ways that you can begin making a difference today. For example, evaluate your company handbook and adjust it to match the culture you want to embrace. You can also take a look at the perks employees receive and tailor them to reflect your company’s mission statement.
Not all unwieldy large businesses fail. With proper management and creative problem solving, you can recover from a few clumsy missteps and lead the business to become bigger and stronger than before. PADGETT BUSINESS SERVICES® will help you make sound financial decisions so that your business can experience the right kind of growth – the kind that is sustainable.