Are You Working ON Or IN Business?

Ask any budding businessman his most important commitment and pat would come the reply, his business.

A business much like a plant needs nurturing especially in the initial stages. Once it finds its roots, the rest is a test of time where the owner/ entrepreneurs and managers spend time understanding the industry, their position therein and how to go about making the best use of resources. In addition, it is expected of them to formulate strategies for growth and diversification whether in the same or varied industry.

But imagine the situation of any businessman where he/ she is unable (or unwilling) to come out of the nurturing stage and continues with the daily nitty-gritties. Like a plant, the business too will suffer from the disability of size as way too much focus is placed on fighting the present battles instead of planning to win the war where a completely different set of strategies and tools may be required which is far removed from the present realities.

Humans unlike a computer are not per-se meant to multi-task. That being the case, once you begin focusing on daily needs and stuff, you get so engrossed in it that it does not leave any scope to focus on the bigger picture which is of growth. And without a resolute focus towards growth, it is only a question of time before it starts to shrink and the enterprise sinks into oblivion.

Experience across industries seems to suggest a two pronged approach to get out of the rut.

One, to the extent possible, delegate what others can also do and keep with oneself only those activities which cannot be expected from others such as planning, strategizing and viewing the bigger picture.

Two, use innovative managerial practices which encourage delegation to people down the line so that they are enthused enough to take up tougher assignments while the owners/ entrepreneurs plan ahead for the future.

An extension to the second concept is that of using specialized machines and software. Computers, tabs, smartphones…..and now the cloud! The latter with a mix of advance software and huge server capacities has made it very possible for any entrepreneur to concentrate his energies to the extent possible on growing a business and not get bogged down simply managing it. To manage, there are managers and cloud-based ERP companies which do a better job.

Creating a system to manage the day-to-day working of the business though challenging does present certain positives like

• Placing the right man for the right job.
• Better productivity and lower costs
• Reduce human dependency and let system drive the mundane and routine tasks
• More bandwidth and energy to focus on growing the business rather than get burned by ongoing operational issues.

Having Effective IT System is becoming must for any organization – Large to Manage and Small to Grow!!!