Business Cycle Management:

Essential Ideas for Business Success...

Business Cycle Management:

Essential Ideas for Business Success...

"We were born to succeed, not to fail." ~ Henry David Thoreau

We are constantly working our company's Strategic Plan... guiding our business to bigger and more profitable objectives. Due to outstanding Business Cycle Management, we enjoy few economic surprises... and are achieving our Mission. THINK: Yes or No?

Related Ideas:

Business Monitoring... Company Projections... Contraction/Conservation... Decision Making... Economic Forecasting... Exit Strategy... Expansion/Growth... Strategic Planning...

Executive Summary...

This last function is arguably the most important of the 10, because it is where the most important decisions for the destiny of your company are made... and where the other 9 Functions are fully integrated into the DNA — D)o It N)ow A)ctions — of your business.

As you learned in Function 1, the number one key to success in business is an unbridled, highly evolved sense of passion, purpose and MISSION. The simple truth is, if you are not passionate about your Mission... or your Vision starts to fade from the blur of the daily grind... your business will ultimately fail... dying an agonizing, slow motion death where you work your heart out and your butt off and have virtually nothing to show for all your hard work.

By performing Function 1 well, a constantly evolving Company Vision is created for who and what your company will become and a STRATEGY is developed to achieve this desired Vision. Functions 2-9 are then all expertly managed to TACTICALLY produce the results necessary to ACHIEVE the Company's Vision over time.

It is here in Function 10 where success is actually delivered and you develop what some call the Midas Touch or Winner's Mindset™... learning to see strategically... think tactically... and execute brilliantly.

Mission and Vision Guide Strategic Planning...
Which Guides Business Cycle Decision Making.

Starting from Day 1, you have been on a mission to build your business into a real gold mine... a money making machine... a true financial powerhouse. To quickly move beyond basic subsistence and Sustainability >> to Profitability >> to Grow-ability >> to Salability/Vitality where you have true wealth options: an IPO, LBO, Merger, outright sale.

Click Here For Lots More On This Function...

By keeping your eye on the 3 Prime Directives: Getting, Keeping, Making... your never ending role is to develop highly innovative plans for getting more customers... keeping them coming back for more... and making lots of money in the process.

It is also true that from the moment your company started business, things began to change — sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." ~ Charles Darwin

Your business almost never unfolds exactly as planned.

Some things go much better than expected. Sometimes the market and your business environment propels you into the exactly right place... at exactly the right time... and your business shoots way beyond where you had hoped and planned.

Other times, expectations tank with no success at all because the market, the weather, your team of people, government regulations and/or your competition all conspire against you.

Adaptation is Key.

Business Cycle Management is all about ADAPTING to and addressing both the difficulties and the new-found opportunities that come your way as your company evolves over time from one business stage to another.

The Business Cycle Management Function requires you to continuously assess where you are in each stage of your business, and determine/recommit to the big WHY behind your Strategic Plan. In other words, should you continue the current mission, or redeploy your time, money, assets and people differently — maybe in a related enterprise — or do something entirely different.

The key is to know WHERE you are on this business cycle continuum, and WHAT new opportunities to pursue... in good times and bad.

To answer this, you must, no less than once a quarter, CLARIFY both your Mission and Vision Statements in light of your CURRENT business success... or lack thereof.

In other words, if you are only at Stage 1 Sustainability after 3 years of hard work, it's up to this Business Cycle Management Function to determine if you should continue on or change direction.

If you have quickly turned your business into a Stage 2, highly Profitable cash cow, then management needs to make the executive decision to either take the money and do something else... or push forward to Stage 3 and GROW your business further and faster.

If you are in Stage 3, with the marketplace begging for your products and services, and your traditional sources for financing your growth dries up overnight — should you continue to spend available resources on expanding as planned or should you put on the brakes and call it good enough?

Huge questions, right?

These are decisions that will change the destiny of your company.

The answer lies in reviewing, reenergizing and rewriting your Mission and Vision Statements BEFORE making critical changes to your Strategic Plan.

As we said before, your MISSION statement describes the company's business overall vision, including the unchanging values and purpose of the firm... together with forward-looking visionary goals that guide the pursuit of all future opportunities.

Guided by the business' VISION, your leaders, team members and stakeholders can define measurable financial and strategic objectives... making certain your Strategic Plan reflects the current reality of business conditions together with managements ability to maximize cash flow, profits and ultimately, shareholder value.

"The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have done and what we might have been on the one hand, and the thing we have made and the things we have made of ourselves on the other." ~ H.G. Wells

No question, Business Cycle Management is all about achieving your MISSION by keeping ahead of the ball... responding (not reacting) to changes in the competitive landscape... and ultimately, surviving the long term economic cycles.

Put simply, you are either growing or you are dying.

Constantly working your Strategic Plan to continue moving up from one business stage to the next while constantly adjusting to the current business cycles — vs. simply trying to maintain the status quo — is what separates those who PLAY TO WIN the game of business and those who stay mired in a slowly depleting business.

You Are Your Business...

If your business has been a success, you've probably had to pour most of your time, energy, and money into it for what may seem like forever. You may see your company as an extension of yourself, and it may be hard to even imagine life without it.

On the other hand, your business may be only marginally successful, and something you can't wait to get rid of.

Or, perhaps you entered into the business with the idea that it would be a short-term opportunity and that you would sell out whenever you got a decent offer.

Clearly, the end-game must always be kept forefront as you navigate the highly unforgiving, hyper-competitive global economy and move your business from stage to stage.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it."

Excellence At This Function Means You Can Say...

  • We have a sharp eye on the economy at every point in time and are able to scale accordingly — FAST. We do GREAT in any economy... good... bad... or simply mediocre. We are built to last, and our competitors weep when we come after their market share, because they know we will get it... fair and square.
  • We believe that running a business is like riding a bicycle: When the wind tries to blow you off, you respond to the wind... when you fall off, you get back on... when going up hill, you keep your focus on the destination not the increased effort... when rolling downhill, you enjoy the ride and remain in control.
  • We believe in Thomas Jefferson's first rule of success, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." We also believe that the price of LIQUIDITY is eternal vigilance! We are eternally vigilant and Manage On Purpose... not by the surprise of the day.
  • We believe that you must always PLAN TO WIN.
  • We believe that you must always PLAY TO WIN.

Improve This Function Now...

This Golden Function is composed of the following sub-functions and actions — things which must be done to guarantee your success.

See a weak spot or area of interest? Click on the action link to dive in and learn more. There's wealth of information behind each click!

Business Monitoring

1.  BCBMMA  Establish/review/improve weekly reporting of status and progress of all business functions and progression toward preset goals.
2.  BCBMMN  Establish/review/improve weekly review of all critical business numbers and compare to ideal ratios and goals.

Company Projections

1.  BCPJFS  Perform a feasibility study on one new proposal to determine if it is technically possible and if it could be profitable.

Contraction/Conservation

1.  BCCOFD  Close down business. Get all the professional and personal help needed to make the right decisions to prevent additional loss.
2.  BCCOFS  Identify and monitor metrics that relate the optimal size of the company to current and projected income, expenses and profit.
3.  BCCOLD  Downsize company expenses and personnel, as soon as possible, to adjust to current level of business.
4.  BCCOLV  Get company ready for liquidation to maximize cash from remaining assets.

Decision Making

1.  BCDMAP  Discover and practice new strategies for preventing or overcoming "analysis paralysis."
2.  BCDMDM  Discover and practice new strategies for making better business decisions.

Economic Forecasting

1.  BCEFCF  Research how and where the company's industry will mature and change over the next 5-20 years. Make plans now to get ahead of the curve.
2.  BCEFNT  Research local, regional, world-wide trends that may potentially impact the business.

Exit Strategy

1.  BCESBO  Explore the possibility of an employee buy-out of the company.
2.  BCESBV  Appraise company current business valuation.
3.  BCESIP  Get business ready to take public.
4.  BCESSB  Get business ready to sell.
5.  BCESSP  Create an official succession plan for replacing ownership and key employees.

Expansion/Growth

1.  BCEGBB  Grow business by buying another business. If not now, simulate the process to discover the pros and cons of growing in this manner.
2.  BCEGCE  Identify and investigate three new methods/products/customer types/areas of growth/expansion not currently being served.
3.  BCEGDI  Review company core strengths and create five scenarios for diversification from current company focus.
4.  BCEGEB  Create new branch locations.
5.  BCEGEV  Take current company Vision and expand it to the next level.
6.  BCEGFB  Purchase a franchise that would supplement current business focus or take advantage of the company's core strengths.
7.  BCEGFH  Franchise company business and sell franchises.
8.  BCEGJV  Join forces/assets/strengths with another company in a joint venture to achieve more together, than you could alone.
9.  BCEGMA  Look for merger/acquisition opportunities that would be smart to do now or smart to do in the next year.
10.  BCEGOG  Develop a system to continuously monitor all company functions. Reward what's working. Eliminate what's not working. Immediately.
11.  BCEGPS  Partner with another entity, company, person, organization, to achieve a mutual goal.

Strategic Planning

1.  BCSPAD  Compare each function short-term goals to actual performance. Manage and adjust to improve ability to meet goals.
2.  BCSPBC  Hire a business consultant to identify and implement recommendation on major business issue.
3.  BCSPBP  Review long-term strategic plan for problems and progress. Adjust to current performance, market conditions and new opportunities.
4.  BCSPCC  Hire a business coach, mentor, expert to help make major strategic decisions.
5.  BCSPMM  Develop and update Business Cycle Management Manual for all business management responsibilities, activities and operations.