Insomnia: March 2005

Community Comments

Strategically Pry Your Company Out of Your Head

by Georgene Waterman

Question
I am the owner and president of a privately held architectural design company located in Modesto. I have grown the company from $12 million in revenue to more than $60 million in revenue per year over the last seven years.  I have worked long hours during that time and missed opportunities to be with my family. Now I want to enjoy the fruits of my hard labor. The problem is I have never put in an infrastructure: Most of the company is in my head. Additionally, I want to continue to grow the company and feel I should do this in a more organized way. What should I do and where should I start?

Rest Assured...
The most important issue you mention is that your company is in your head. What you need to do is get it into your employees' heads. The first step is to have a strategic planning session. Strategic planning takes you through a set process of identifying your vision and then developing a plan to help you fulfill that vision. Moreover, it develops an action plan that you can use to track progress, even from the beach in Hawaii! 
    A trained facilitator should guide you and your key employees through the strategic planning process.  The purpose is to take you out of the power position. Since you are the boss, employees may hesitate to share alternative ideas. A facilitator allows openness. You get the best plan when you put many heads together. Additionally, when the plan belongs to key employees, instead of you, the buy-in will be much greater.
 
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