How do I get my staff excited about growth?

This article first appeared on June 9, 2010

Dear Aunty B,

Our company is stagnant and we are stuck a bit in doing the same old, same old. How do I make it grow and how do I get my staff excited about growth? Often when I raise new ideas they tell me I am distracting them from their job.

Vic,
Melb

Dear Vic,

You need two things to grow: the desire to grow – which you seem to have – and the determination to push like crazy through all the obstacles to get that growth.

The desire to grow has to come from the top. That means you. Most staff by nature are happy to come to work and maintain the status quo. And why not? It is hard work just to keep sales where they are.

So that means you and your top team must come to work, talk about growth, plan for growth and spend at least half your time focused on the future.

That includes talking to customers about where they are going and seeing if you can come up with new innovative products and processes that can delight and convert them.

It can be quite lonely pursuing growth. Relentlessly pushing staff who already work hard is hard work! Getting them to focus on new initiatives, especially when some might fail, takes a lot of energy.

Make sure you create a culture where you make a fuss about new things and you don’t punish failure. And get that management team in place that can back you up and can test out ideas to ensure there is market demand for any new idea.

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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