All companies go through cycles.
An "up" cycle is evidenced by growth, vibrancy and the optimization of potential. A "down" cycle means your products are no longer "must haves," your customers are being siphoned off by competitors and your employees are leaving for greener pastures.
Being successful - and staying that way - is not a question of luck or timing; it depends on your focus. If you focus on the wrong things, you lose. If you focus on what's important, you win.
If your efforts to regain your competitive edge are failing to produce the desired results, it's time for a different approach. It's time to deal with the causes of your business problems, not just their symptoms.
Regardless of how successful your business has been in the past, if it is now stuck in neutral (or even in reverse) you need to find a way to start going forward again.
Although improving operating efficiency, marketing or sales techniques are important to the success of any business, they are not fundamental to a company's success - especially if the real problem is that customers no longer want what you're offering or you consider "customer service" as a cost center rather than as a value generator.
Macro Thinking takes the business owner beyond the symptoms, identifying the critical elements that every business - regardless of size, industry, or location must have to achieve and maintain success.
If you own or manage a business, it will help you:
- Grow your business and generate more profit
- Get your customers to help you become more successful
- Develop and execute a plan to get you from where you are to where you want to be
- Establish the right support to achieve your goals
Rebuild your business success by refocusing on the fundamentals.
The road back to success begins with Macro Thinking.
About the Author: A serial entrepreneur, Eric P. Kaufman holds a BS in business from Boston University and is recognized as a certified property manager by the National Association of Realtors. He founded Acumen Business Advisors LLC in 2009 to provide strategic guidance to start-up entrepreneurs as well as to owners and managers of existing businesses.
