inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As

Do you sometimes get frustrated that others cannot see the relevance or importance of the kind of business changes you would like to make in your operation? Maybe you had great success in a previous business, developing your team, or you've done some reading and are sold on the value of doing some work on the strategy and vision of your current business.

Or is it sometimes the other way round? Do you feel frustration about people advocating change that doesn't seem appropriate for the business; like insisting on an inspiring vision statement when what's needed first is delivering a profitable quarter, or a basic reporting system?

The perspective that is missing is that businesses go through states in their development; at any given state of development, paying attention to issues beyond that state is irrelevant. It's not that the concern to introduce work on key business issues is wrong in itself, only that those issues are irrelevantto the current state of the business.

The Three States of a Business

State 1: Survival and Integrity

The primary focus here needs to be on making sure that the business is financially viable - that it is profitable and has positive cash flow. All your effort needs to be focused on the factors that are threatening survival: poor products, poor sales revenue and too much cost. It is essential to be sure that the basic operational and financial data is present and accurate, that there aren't any skeletons in the cupboard (for example legal, safety or quality issues), and that working relationships in crucial roles are in basic good shape. Concentrate on one-to-one coaching and hands-on management.

At this state of the business, it is in crisis.People need to work intensely for it to survive: it needs heroes.

State 2: Consistent Credibility and Reliability

In State 2, you need to focus primarily on developing consistent, credible results, so that the business reliably delivers on its commitments to its stakeholders. The first way to do this is to put in place efficient business processes in the key leverage areas such as sales, product development, operations, supply chain management, financial reporting and performance management.

The second requirement at this stage of the business is to focus on the building of basic competencies in management, effective teamwork and accountability. This is where group coaching and training can be effective, especially when done with intact teams, and tied to achieving specific business measures.

Processes have replaced the need for individual heroes!

State 3: Business Potential and Transformation

In State 3 the focus of the business and the people in it have moved beyond solely delivering reliable and consistent results, though these are of course still essential. You have a choice: the business has reached a plateau and there is a danger that it can stagnate. The challenge is to move on beyond creating a well-run business as an end in itself. The focus now needs to be on creating a truly inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As

state is irrelevant. It's not that the concern to introduce work on key business issues is wrong in itself, only that those issues are irrelevantto the current state of the business.

The Three States of a Business

State 1: Survival and Integrity

The primary focus here needs to be on making sure that the business is financially viable - that it is profitable and has positive cash flow. All your effort needs to be focused on the factors that are threatening survival: poor products, poor sales revenue and too much cost. It is essential to be sure that the basic operational and financial data is present and accurate, that there aren't any skeletons in the cupboard (for example legal, safety or quality issues), and that working relationships in crucial roles are in basic good shape. Concentrate on one-to-one coaching and hands-on management.

At this state of the business, it is in crisis.People need to work intensely for it to survive: it needs heroes.

State 2: Consistent Credibility and Reliability

In State 2, you need to focus primarily on developing consistent, credible results, so that the business reliably delivers on its commitments to its stakeholders. The first way to do this is to put in place efficient business processes in the key leverage areas such as sales, product development, operations, supply chain management, financial reporting and performance management.

The second requirement at this stage of the business is to focus on the building of basic competencies in management, effective teamwork and accountability. This is where group coaching and training can be effective, especially when done with intact teams, and tied to achieving specific business measures.

Processes have replaced the need for individual heroes!

State 3: Business Potential and Transformation

In State 3 the focus of the business and the people in it have moved beyond solely delivering reliable and consistent results, though these are of course still essential. You have a choice: the business has reached a plateau and there is a danger that it can stagnate. The challenge is to move on beyond creating a well-run business as an end in itself. The focus now needs to be on creating a truly inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As

y issues), and that working relationships in crucial roles are in basic good shape. Concentrate on one-to-one coaching and hands-on management.

At this state of the business, it is in crisis.People need to work intensely for it to survive: it needs heroes.

State 2: Consistent Credibility and Reliability

In State 2, you need to focus primarily on developing consistent, credible results, so that the business reliably delivers on its commitments to its stakeholders. The first way to do this is to put in place efficient business processes in the key leverage areas such as sales, product development, operations, supply chain management, financial reporting and performance management.

The second requirement at this stage of the business is to focus on the building of basic competencies in management, effective teamwork and accountability. This is where group coaching and training can be effective, especially when done with intact teams, and tied to achieving specific business measures.

Processes have replaced the need for individual heroes!

State 3: Business Potential and Transformation

In State 3 the focus of the business and the people in it have moved beyond solely delivering reliable and consistent results, though these are of course still essential. You have a choice: the business has reached a plateau and there is a danger that it can stagnate. The challenge is to move on beyond creating a well-run business as an end in itself. The focus now needs to be on creating a truly inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As

is to focus on the building of basic competencies in management, effective teamwork and accountability. This is where group coaching and training can be effective, especially when done with intact teams, and tied to achieving specific business measures.

Processes have replaced the need for individual heroes!

State 3: Business Potential and Transformation

In State 3 the focus of the business and the people in it have moved beyond solely delivering reliable and consistent results, though these are of course still essential. You have a choice: the business has reached a plateau and there is a danger that it can stagnate. The challenge is to move on beyond creating a well-run business as an end in itself. The focus now needs to be on creating a truly inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As

inspirational future. Work needs to be done to ensurethat everyone in the business has a shared vision of an inspiring future that they can articulate concisely and compellingly - and act on!

A business like this inspires heroism in the form of leadership, which does not just exist in the senior levels of management and directors but runs through the entire business. Teamwork is self-generating: teams form and become effective independent of direction from senior leaders.

At this stage of the business, focus on transformation - creating and managing new mindsets from which to operate the business, continuously developing its thinking and performance. Exploring group and individual mindsets can become a natural part of dealing with issues and obstacles to progress in the business. As a result at this stage, issues are resolved and progress made very rapidly.

How to Use the Principle

It is important to remember that each state of the business's progress builds on and includes the one before. Even if your business has reached State 2 or 3, it can regress if an issue around business integrity or reliability arises. The important thing is to pay conscious attention to where it is at any given point in time - a business may go ‘backwards' as well as ‘onwards'!

Once you fully understand the principle we outline here, it becomes obvious why there is sometimes resistance to things you would like to do in your business. You cannot move ahead until you deal with the issues at each stage. They demand attention, and until they are resolved and the business can credibly be said to be operating at the next state, there will be no tolerance for carrying out work on any further issues.

At the point where a business moves to the next state of development, issues appropriate to that state will naturally arise. The business will eventually naturally demandthe work that needs to be done, there will be an appetite for doing it, and it will feel 'right' and relevant at the appropriate time.

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