Just because you have a successful organization does not mean that you are not experiencing problems from your success. In fact, these challenges could be the start of a slow spiral to failure. Let’s call it the Curse of Success.
How many times have you heard of a company growing quickly, expanding its offerings, and increasing its staff significantly, only to go out of business or downsize a short while later?
The problem is that success produces a new set of challenges. Many successful leaders, while good at climbing up to success, aren’t very skilled at staying at the top.
To Clear the Path to sustainable productivity, consider these tips:
Stay Focused: Think about what you do best and spend most of your time doing it. A growing organization frequently puts new tasks on your plate. These can distract you from your big picture goals.
As I’ve said before, it’s possible to stay busy all day and get nothing meaningful done.
A supervisor can go from overseeing ten employees to fifty but it’s doubtful that person will be as effective a leader.
And an NFL quarterback does not fill the team’s water bottles during a game because there are more important things for him to do.
Do what you do best and what adds the most value to your company. Outsource the rest.
Is Growth Good: Bigger does not always mean better. A small group of dedicated employees can make a restaurant a huge success. But when a sister restaurant is opened, both restaurant suffer. Why? Because sometimes a formula for success, whether it’s a less enthusiastic staff, a different chef, or a misjudged location, doesn’t duplicate well.
It’s very tempting to try to grow your business into new markets. Know whether the decision is being driven by ego or solid research. If you feel like there’s no way you can fail, then I encourage you to read the book, “Brand Failures,” which sees some very successful companies make some very costly mistakes.
Are You Lightening in a Bottle? Dumb luck plays a role in business but in this performance there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a curtain call. Sometimes you were simply in the right place at the right time. But when your competition catches up, you start to lose your customers.
Think of it like this: Are you riding a wave or swimming to shore? One sees you move quickly but you’re not in control of your destiny. The other is not as fast but you have the ability to make adjustments as you swim.
Bottom Line: It’s wonderful to be successful but it takes work to maintain it.
