The second foundational question (FQ) in the Revenue Development Action Plan is:

What is your company’s purpose? Why are you here?”

In the early stages of creating a business there is a strong focus on developing a vision, a formal mission statement and company values. However, the company purpose is something that is often more elusive.

Most new businesses are primarily focused on generating enough revenue to be sustainable. Business owners may have a strong personal sense of why they formed the business, but that purpose is not always reflected throughout the company. As businesses grow, however, they may naturally begin to develop a purpose that drives strategic decision-making. This direction must be refined into a clear purpose statement or the company will aimlessly wander.

The upcoming CAMPS Manufacturing Conference on June 12, 2019 continues the tradition with 200 expected to attend. The conference presents to us practical applications to use current technology now, not ‘someday’ in the future.

I am especially interested in the keynote where Andy Luse will present his insights about the 4th industrial revolution. I am also curious about the A.I. breakout session as we learn about the myths and realities.

While creating a mission statement is typically an early step in starting a business, many mature companies have outdated versions, poorly written attempts, or are missing them altogether.

Most frequently, time is the limiting factor. Business owners and founders can be reluctant to invest the time needed and effort required to craft an effective mission statement. They wonder whether it is truly essential for growing their businesses and if customers will ever read it. These doubts can relegate creating or updating a mission statement to non-critical status, freeing up valuable time for other essentials.

However, a mission statement is a crucial document that describes the purpose of the business. It states what the business is going to do, for whom, and why. A successful organization should know the answers to these questions because they speak to the most basic elements of a business plan. As such, the company mission should essentially write itself. Yet, owners, founders, and executive leadership still struggle with formulating an effective mission statement.

Profitable revenue is the lifeblood of any organization. As such, many business owners correlate revenue with success, presuming that companies making money are, indeed, successful. However, revenue does not necessarily equate to success. While profitability, sustainable growth, and significant revenue can be components of success, true success is achieved when long-term goals are met.

The first foundational question in the Revenue Development Action Plan is “What does success look like for your organization?” This question precedes 27 more that help business owners, founders, and CEOs evaluate what is working within their organizations and what needs to be modified. Visualizing success helps identify competitive advantages, strengthen value propositions, locate gaps in existing plans and processes, recognize barriers to success, find operational areas for improvement, and seize opportunities in the market.

The purpose of the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is to drive organic revenue growth by leveraging each revenue-generating function and department within your organization.

This is a position that was born in the Silicon Valley SaaS sector, but it's no longer isolated to the tech space. More companies are finding value in adding the CRO position to their C-suite, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Whether you're a company like Continental Airlines, which has had a CRO for nearly two decades, or a business that is just realizing the value of this position, it's a specialized role. Here is what a CRO can bring to the table and what you need to know to find your company's next CRO.

When the economy is strong and business is booming, it is easy to focus on present success and delay planning for future challenges. Newer business owners and entrepreneurs often prefer to delight in their own accomplishments rather than engage in long-term strategic planning. However, no boom lasts forever, which means that this naïve approach can be quite costly.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not take a severe recession to hinder business operations. Even small changes in the overall economy or an individual vertical can negatively affect revenue growth. Economists and experienced business owners understand that waiting to plan until an economic downturn has occurred can be a catastrophic mistake.

Another Leadership Forum is happening in March for members of Center for Advanced Manufacturing Puget Sound (CAMPS).  The forum will be at the offices of Clark Number in Bellevue, WA on March 27. I will have the honor of presenting on the topic of “Becoming a Thought Leader”.

Strategy ideas are in abundant supply. Any and all may appear attractive and anyone with an active imagination can easily see the possibilities, but “possible” should not be confused with “probable”. Entrepreneurs (and intrapreneurs) with “irrational optimism” are eager to take action on the possibilities and leap without a parachute --- to fly or land with a splat.