The survey determined 10 principal characteristics that separate the “grow getters” from those in their dust. In this post and our next two we will explain them in detail.
1. Focus Outside the Business
High-growth companies are two times more likely than low-growth ones to focus on external opportunities to grow their businesses. Low-growth companies rank cost management as the highest factor in business growth, while high-growth companies see a focus on expansion as key. The takeaway: manufacturers will be better served by adopting an expansion mindset and refocus their growth strategy on external opportunities.
2. Make Planning a Priority
Surprisingly, only a third of manufacturers consider planning and strategy as critical to business growth. But 40 percent of high-growth companies see this critical link, while only 26 percent of low-growth companies do. The takeaway: make strategic planning a priority to support growth objectives.
3. Manage Stress More Effectively
Interestingly, high-growth companies are more than three times likely than low-growth ones to find growth rewarding as opposed to stressful. Consider how high- and low-growth companies rank their descriptions of growth:
|
Rank |
High- Growth Companies | Low-Growth Companies |
| 1 | Rewarding | Stressful |
| 2 | Well-managed | Challenging |
| 3 | Planned | Planned |
| 4 | Challenging | Well-Managed |
| 5 | Stressful | Rewarding |
The takeaway here is that high- and low-growth organizations have inverse attitudes towards growth that are reflected in their performances. So low-growth companies need to achieve an attitude adjustment towards growth per se.
Part Two of this "extended post' deals with the next four growth characteristics. If you'd like to get a jump on better orienting your company towards growth, go here.
1The research, conducted by Morar Consulting on behalf of Epicor, questioned 2,450 business decision makers and employees in businesses in 12 countries across the globe, about their growth performance in the last 12 months.