Managing Growth Businesses

I am still in China. The photograph is a scale model of a factory complex. They use the scale model to do the tour since the facilities are too large to tour. (I thought the same about our new Guelph warehouse but we did a DVD instead).

The one pictured employs 8000 employees include dormitories, police, hospital (more of an infirmary), - even a firetruck. These factories are small self contained villages.

Certainly a fascinating cultural experience.






I recently read, Managing Business Growth: Get a Grip on the Numbers That Count by Angie Mohr. The title certainly attracts ones interest. I love growth and I understand the need to "get a grip on the right numbers". This is one thing SYNNEX has taught me well.





This is a simple short read intended for a start-up business. It has been a long time since I have done my own start-up and most of the examples used are about tremendously small businesses and start ups.





Because the book is so easy to use, I would still recommend it to any start-up entrepreneur.

There was a good section on mission statements that said the following. Mission statements should be:

1 - Measurable. You need to be able to determine if the goals are being met on a regular basis.

2 - Challenging. The goals should be a stretch to reach, but not unrealistic or unattainable.

3 -Focused. You will be using the mission statement to make operational and strategic decision in your business so the goals need to be sharply focused.

4 - Flexible. The goals should allow for individual interpretation within the framework originally envisioned.

5 - Clear. One of the most important facets of the mission statement is its ability to be explained and understood by everyone in the organization. Therefore the goals should be easy to understand and not marred with "business speak."

6 - Appropriate. The goals in the mission statement must work towards achievement of the vision statement. If the mission statement is not in perfect alignment with the vision statement, the overall goals will not be achieved and the business will be dysfunctional.