Many owners I talk to want to double their business in five years. This ambitious objective is challenging to a Growth CFO in my position, but what does it mean to a CEO?
Sometimes, it means nothing but the aspiration itself. As in, these leaders don’t have the framework to make decisions or follow through with confidence.
By focusing on the obstacles you want to overcome, bold moves go from unattainable to achievable with the right game plan.
Don’t Confuse the Risk of Innovation
Let’s look at some leaders who take the right kinds of risks.
Sir Richard Branson started Virgin Atlantic Airways with just one jetliner–and if the service had fizzled, the lease had a one-year escape clause. Nobody would ever describe Elon Musk’s self-promotion as traditional marketing. Small and medium-sized private businesses will never have the free advertising Musk gets with his gargantuan social media following and platform, but they often get free promotion in the media and by word of mouth when they do something out of the ordinary.
For small business owners who cannot afford to take the same level of risks, we may rely on our ability to innovate in quick cycles. We do it well when we have the infrastructure in place to analyze data and track results near real-time. This is how CEOs protect against downside.
- Challenge status quo practices and industry norms.
- Intentionally design your customer journey to optimize their experience.
- Lead instead of chasing competitors.
Don’t be price sensitive. Cutting price to increase sales is a race to the bottom. Instead, use data to mine for gold through value pricing.
Position Yourself with Unique Offerings
Part of why we know Branson and Musk is because these CEOs dared to do something different, and it paid off across the board. They’re not worried about what their contemporaries are doing, what most stakeholders think they want, or how the media and other people in power want them to behave or speak.
Instead, think in terms of the 5 P’s: people, positioning, promotion, process, and pricing. This strategy is simple upfront, but you don’t optimize these areas by following a guide. At the end of the day, craft a guide with these in mind and you can keep your eye on the ball.
Not all offbeat ideas work. It’s on you, and your team, to study the dynamics of your industry. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take the right risks once you’ve studied your marketplace. Dare to think differently, but not for being different alone.