How to Model High Growth Organisations

Academy Group 23, chief executive mentoring and experiential learning group (with members from the North East of England) recently heard expert speaker Andy Todd (see Andy’s website at www.com-cat.co.uk ), from Commercial Catalyst, specialists in advising and helping organisations achieve ‘high growth’.

Academy members learnt what the key characteristics of high growth organisations are and then, more importantly, which would be appropriate and practical to implement themselves to achieve similar dynamic results.

The Academy’s chief executive members were able to appreciate the high growth subtleties and techniques to maximise business potential – strategies for taking their products and services to the market, for example:-

• the identification of ‘breakthrough’ clients/ customers,
• having an effective B2B Proposition,
• aim high/ globally,
• potential to be first or second in their market,
• total market size must exceed minimum of £300m sales p.a.,
• the importance of generating revenue as quickly as possible to self finance,
• it is crucial to have a disciplined and measured approach to business development,
• add value and charge top quartile pricing,
• be deal rather than product oriented,
• crucial to be innovative / offer differentiation,
• sell client their potential to achieve competitive advantage not cost saving,
• base price on value given not cost or competition,
• thought leadership of potential clients.

Peter Sutcliffe,

Joint Chairman with Karen Humble, North East, Academy Group 23

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning® facilitates peer groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To hear great speakers like this every month and engage in The Board You Could Never Afford®, to find out more about the North East Group, or to find a local group near you, visit www.chiefexecutive.com.

 

Manager vs Entrepreneur

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning facilitates groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. Part of membership is ‘The Board You Could Never Afford‘® where members take their issues to the table and discuss with their peers.

An issue discussed recently was:

“I describe myself as an entrepreneur but as the business grows, more and more I’m the manager – how do I get back to what I enjoy?”

The Advice from members of The Academy for Chief Executives was:

• Revisit your vision for the business and step away from the day to day nitty gritty.
• Once you’ve reaffirmed where you want to go, use your entrepreneurial vision to focus totally on the future and what needs to happen for your goals to be realised. If you cannot balance the business needs of innovation and creativity with the daily tasks of managing and getting the job done, then you need to recruit a Manager to do it for you.
• It’s the MD’s job to enforce your rules and manage the people. Find a good MD who has the managerial skills you need to achieve your vision. A good strategist and tactical planner and organiser who will turn the vision into reality. This will give you the head space you need to be innovative and creative – and enable your business to benefit from manager and entrepreneur.

The question of Manager vs Entrepreneur is an example of the type of issue discussed at an Academy meeting – and this is just a snippet of the advice given by our members. For confidentiality reasons we cannot divulge all of the advice provided – however, we do hold open meetings where guests are able to attend and experience for themselves the real power of ‘The Board You Could Never Afford’®.

The Academy for Chief Executives, a leading provider of experiential business learning facilitates groups of CEOs and Managing Directors who meet together every month to network and take full advantage of experiential learning. To find out how you can take advantage of advice like this every month, visit www.chiefexecutive.com/members.asp