The science-backed elements to accelerate business growth

Thriving in the current cutthroat business landscape poses significant challenges. Almost 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years. 45% during the first five years and 65% during the first ten years. After 15 years (or more) only 25% will still be standing.

No wonder business owners and managers are feeling under pressure.

Luckily, I have good news for you:

• More than 15 years of research uncovered three elements that are essential for a successful business.
• We have made it easy for you to identify your weaknesses and how to overcome them using our maturity assessment.
• It's completely free and without any obligations. 

[Skip the talk - go straight to the maturity assessment]

In this article, I'll introduce you to the essential elements and provide an easy way for you to pinpoint where your business needs a helping hand and where you're thriving.

First, let's look at the elements that can make or break your business:

1. Technology
2. Processes
3. Performance

As this article will show, they're all interrelated. Let's get started. 

1. Don’t let technology be a showstopper for you

The digital revolution is a fact no business leaders can ignore. (And nor should you).

Whether we call it digital transformation or see it as an updated version of Moore’s Law, the growth of tools and tech—which incidentally exploded during COVID–19—is both an advantage and a complication for your business's survival and thriving. 

• It’s estimated that 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day
• The global wearable AI market is projected to be worth $69.51 billion by 2026
• As of 2014, it’s estimated that 90% of the world’s data was collected in the last two years

… just to throw a few numbers out there.

So while there's little doubt that technology has a huge impact on a company's performance, the timing of introducing a specific technology is equally important.

For instance: 

A complex CRM system might be overkill for a start-up, but if the company turns into a scale-up, this tool (or technology) becomes essential. 

2. Processes always win!

Have you ever invested in a new business tool only to find that it didn't live up to the sales pitch? Or have you noticed that implementing new systems often feels like a full-time job?

Well, here’s a clue: Processes always win!

It's important to establish proper processes and utilisation before investing in new tools.

The same goes for all the neat data we accumulate in these digital times – we need to know exactly: 

• How we are going to use it?
• What do we want to learn from it?
• Do we need to adapt our organisational culture?

And that boils down to processes.

Having user-friendly processes is crucial for minimising rework, enhancing knowledge sharing, and boosting overall performance within the organisation.

However, processes are often unevenly distributed in businesses: while marketing may excel in documented procedures, sales may find themselves constantly reinventing the wheel.

So it might require thorough process mapping to uncover what it looks like in your organisation.

3. Don't block the way for greater performance 

Here's an intriguing insight for you:

Companies that harness technology to bolster their operations and implement effective processes experience enhanced performance across a myriad of key performance indicators (KPIs).

To further illustrate my point, let's take a look at some key figures from the Professional Services Industry Benchmark report:

Annual revenue growth

• Top performers: 17,4%
• Low performers: 9,4%

Realised hourly rate

• Top performers: 123.2 euro
• Low performers: 37.5 euro

Project profitability

• Top performers: 55.5%
• Low performer: 15.4 %

Remove the obstacles 

What hidden gems have these top achievers unearthed? Well, the answer is surprisingly straightforward:

They understand the interconnectedness of technology, processes, and performance.

Let me give an example:

If you work in a company where you need to track time, starting with a spreadsheet or a similar tool can be helpful, especially if you have only a few customers or simple projects. Using a spreadsheet is easy to get started with, it's free, and everyone is familiar with it.

But then the company grows.

As projects and customers become more complex, time tracking using spreadsheets can quickly become a cumbersome, risky, and efficiency-hindering obstacle.

Same tool, different results. 

Use performance as a risk indicator 

How can you stay informed about this? Often the numbers (aka performance) will be revealing. 

If you notice a decline in project profitability, a decrease in hourly rates, or realise that your performance lags behind competitors after conducting benchmarking, it is essential to investigate the underlying reasons for these shifts.

As projects evolve in complexity, the need for real-time tracking data becomes indispensable.

When your project manager struggles to track hours accurately or wastes time validating team entries, it directly impacts project profitability.

In this scenario, the spreadsheet becomes a hurdle, and the solution lies in implementing automated time tracking (technology) and establishing a streamlined process for project time tracking (processes) ultimately leading to improved profitability (performance). 

Therefore, the key is to understand:

1. When it's the right time to introduce new technology.
2. Which tools would be most beneficial for your current stage of growth.
3. Where within the organisation your employees may be struggling due to gaps in processes.

The key to success lies in companies that can identify the signs of progress and are ready to take the necessary steps to evolve.

Maturity is the key to business success

The more adept your company becomes at harnessing technology, implementing efficient processes, and improving performance, the greater the level of maturity achieved within the organisation.

However, the crucial initial step is understanding the current status of your company and recognising the indicators that signify readiness for evolution.

Our maturity matrix assessment specifically delves into:

• Processes
• Technology
• Performance

... across five essential performance pillars: Leadership, client relations, talent, service execution and finance and operations. 

Test your maturity and benchmark your company now.