Key Elements of Business Success

There are four key elements or best practices that contribute to the success of a startup or growing organization.

• First, a startup or new business needs a core management with the skills and experience to drive the organization and overcome obstacles and challenges.

• Second, a clear vision that is shared in the organization by key management and employees is needed. A clear vision is needed of where the organization is going and what is planned to be accomplished.

• Third the core management driving the organization must possess strong motivation and passion to lead the organization. They must believe their work is more than simply creating a job.

• Fourth, the business must have a clear value proposition. What value does the product or service provided by the business bring to the marketplace? How does the business differentiate its product or service in the marketplace?

Motivation and Passion

Motivation and passion are needed in the core management leading the organization, because all organizations will:

1. Experience tough times and crisis;
2. Encounter stiff competition;
3. Run into unanticipated hurdles and challenges that will cause significant organizational and personnel stresses; and
4. Cycles of growing pains will occur that require significant organizational and personnel changes and growth to move to the next level of business maturity.

When these events occur it will take the motivation and passion of the core management to provide the leadership, perseverance and creativity to move forward.

Supplementing the Founder's Strengths and Weaknesses

No one person in an organization has the skills, experience and excels at all the functions necessary to drive a business in a competitive environment:

1. Production and quality control,
2. Sales and marketing,
3. Finance and accounting,
4. Administration and
5. Leadership

Therefore, the person or persons that founded the business needs to identify their strengths and recruit, promote and/or train additional team members with the skills and experiences needed in those function areas identified with weaknesses.

Related Best Practices

• Why Companies Fail - The common reasons that a high percentage of companies fail.
• Focus for Success - The role of focus in succeeding.
• Successful Entrepreneur Best Practices
• The Living Company - Learning Organizations - How organizations learn, change and adapt for longevity.

Author

The author of this article is John Sund.

John Sund has a wide variety of leadership and management experiences in private firms, public office and non-profits.

John has worked for five years in private law practice. He has seven years in the legislative arena: three years in a senior staff position and four years as an elected Representative in the Alaska legislature. He served as President and CEO of Waterfall Group; a company that managed a 60 room hotel, restaurant and bar, commercial retail property, air taxi and built and managed a large remote salt water fishing resort in southeast Alaska. For sixteen years he was a founding partner of Silver Lining Seafoods, officer, Board member and Vice President of NorQuest Seafoods, a seafood processing business that grew from a start up to sales over $100 million. He has also served on many public boards, commissions and non-profit organizations.

For the last decade, John has worked as President of Stellar North LLC, with small and medium size companies and non-profit organizations to develop solid strategic plans to build profitable and sustainable organizations.

Education:

• Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College: Juris Doctor LLB
• Western Washington University: B.A. History; B.A. Political Science; Education Certificate