Is there one red flag business leaders should watch for as they move toward predictable success?
Les: The role of systems and processes. Younger, growing businesses tend to be under-systematized: Rightly so in the early stages of growth, but eventually they need to introduce a modicum of process to ensure consistent quality in what they do and get to the scalable level of profitable growth that I call ‘Predictable Success.’ Larger organizations have a tendency to become over-systematized, which in turn makes them arthritic and unresponsive, and they need to reverse that process by re-introducing the visionary, creative risk-taking that systems and processes drive out. Getting the balance right between highly flexible entrepreneurial zeal on the one hand, and systems and processes on the other, is the heart of Predictable Success. Gini: Can all businesses achieve predictable success? Les: Yes. There’s no reason any business cannot get to Predictable Success. Gini: I work with a lot of executives who have companies in, what you call, the whitewater phase – combining operations and s
