Formulating and executing a growth strategy in highly uncertain business environments is never simple. According to Kavan Choksi that while some executives do plan to shape the future with high-stakes bets, doing so is not possible for all businesses. Some major brands may have the capacity to execute to industry-shaping strategies due to their potential to create enormous wealth, but a lot of companies lack the assets, industry position, or risk appetite necessary to make such strategies work. Hence, it becomes important for them to have the right approach to managing growth and uncertainty simultaneously.
Kavan Choksi Shares Insight Into Managing Business Growth And Uncertainties
After working hard on establishing a business, no one would want the growth of the venture to slow down. However, sticking to a growth strategy can become complex for a business, with growth uncertainties looming on the horizon. One must note that it indeed is possible to plan and execute growth strategies in time of uncertainty if they maintain the right approach and are systematic enough. Proper planning goes a long way in fueling growth while managing uncertainty.
No entrepreneur has a crystal ball that can help them to predict the future. There are numerous external factors that can affect the economic landscape and are completely out of the control of the entrepreneur. This could be anything, right from a changing political system, a natural disaster or even something like the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than trying to guess what may happen next, one should place as many small bets as they can on various outcomes that are in their control. This includes how the customers perceive a brand, where the company can expand into untapped markets, how their employees can be motivated and so on. Focusing on the improvement that the market is likely to demand is especially important when it comes to the products or services of the brand.
Whenever trying to balance growth and uncertainty, it is immensely important that a business has a firm grasp of the important financial numbers and other KPIs that allows them to make appropriate changes to the strategies. A business should ideally know the number of leads they have, their conversion rates, as well as a number of transactions handled by their team within a specific timeframe along with the average size of those transactions. The sales team of a business should be consulted while planning its growth strategy as they shall be able to determine the ideal balance between “leading” and “lagging” indicators. Financially speaking, a business has to keep a tab on its cash flow projections, expenditures, tax estimates and profit margins, to control both costs and debts. Maintaining such an approach would come as a huge help in dealing with uncertainties.
Kavan Choksi mentions that while a business should definitely follow through and execute its growth plan regardless of the uncertainties, they can always revisit the plan and tweak it according to the situation. An updated growth strategy would guide the company to the correct path for achieving its business goals, while steering clear of any potholes.
