3 Smart Questions to Start Getting “Lean” in Your Business
Lean wins fans daily in the business and health world. We are not looking to get to “skin and bones”, but to a truly healthy lean. But for most of us we are a long ways from the “skin and bones” side of the equation. Most companies are fighting bloated budgets, overwhelmingly complex processes, and serious communications issues.
For many businesses, the "Lean" movement was really reformed and kickstarted by Eric Ries, author of The Lean StartUp and the Entreprenuer in Residence at Harvard Business School.
When most people today think about lean in business, they focus on lowering the cost of doing business and shrinking budgets. That is not what today’s Lean Movement is about at all.
Lean is about building a strong business by
1) taking smart risks and
2) tracking their activity levels with meaningful measurements.
It is about moving beyond the traditional measurements of Revenue, Operating Expenses, Return on Invested Capital, etc. These are meant to measure financial results. They are good for looking backwards, but have limited value when focusing on the future.
Lean measurements are focused on getting to the "why" of the results so you can use your learnings to leverage future results.
Here are three questions to help get you started:
1) Is your current revenue trend (up or down) based upon your activities and products driving your business engine—or is it being driven by other forces?
2) Are you measuring the metrics you need to understand what is moving your business forward, or backwards? The most popular metrics often mean nothing for a particular business. What do you wish you could measure?
3) Is your company a good place to work for inventive, forward looking people? If not, you likely have a leadership vacuum and big gaps in your business product and execution planning—even if your current team tells you you are great.
Asking new questions can make a huge difference to your business. Start asking them today and let me know what you wish you could measure at kevin@globaldirectpartnerrs.com. Who knows, maybe we can find a way to get you what you want and need.
"The only way to win is to learn faster than everyone else." -- Eric Ries
“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.” - Mick Jagger
