A well-run company still has to change, and leadership has to go first. It’s a Tuesday morning at a twelve-person service company. A scheduler has a question about a rush job. Three months ago, the owner hired a manager to handle exactly this kind of question, and he sits ten feet away. The scheduler walks past his desk, knocks on the owner’s door, and gets an answer in ten seconds. The owner is glad to help. Nobody did anything wrong. That is the problem. The job description

There are two limiting factors to a business: the owner and the market. The market imposes real limitations: customer demand, competition, economic conditions, government, and industry changes. No amount of ambition or determination can eliminate those realities. But the greatest limitation is the owner. That's not an indictment of business owners. I have tremendous respect for those who take the risk of building something of their own. But respect doesn't require us to ignor

“The person you have to become is harder to build than the business itself.” A business owner put it that way, and I think he named something that deserves more attention. When you think about growing your business, you probably think about customers, employees, money, and capacity. You need more work coming in, capable people to handle it, and enough cash to support the next move. If your business continues to grow, you will reach a point where growth requires something diff

If you’re going to create change in your business, the first step is to establish a sense of urgency. Why? Because significant change is difficult. It requires cooperation, initiative, and sacrifice. Without a compelling reason to act now, the effort required to change loses out to the comfort of continuing as you are. Recognizing that change would be good is not enough. You have to recognize that it is necessary and that postponing it has consequences. 1. Understand what pre

You have thirty people working for you, including several crew leads and a manager who oversees the daily schedule. Payroll is tight. The crew leads know the work, and you still talk with them regularly. You begin to wonder: Do I really need this management position between me and the people doing the job? It is a reasonable question. Removing a layer could save money and let people make decisions faster. It could also send every schedule change, customer complaint, and emplo

Is the Market Limiting You, or Are You Limiting the Business? The market may be setting the limit. There may not be enough demand at a profitable price. Competitors may be taking work you once won. You may be unable to find the people or financing needed to expand. Or the limit may be inside the business. Important decisions still come to you. Employees wait for direction they should be able to give one another. Customer relationships and problems depend on your personal atte

How Slark Consulting Group helps established business owners make consequential decisions about growth and transition. There are moments in the life of a business when the owner must make a consequential decision about its future. The decision may have been building for some time. The business has become more complex. An opportunity has emerged. Growth has slowed. The owner is considering another expansion or beginning to think about eventually selling. The immediate question