Having the vision and the strategy is necessary to the success of your business. What I am asking you, as a CEO, president or business owner, is to think about all the business assets at your company.
Defining Business Assets
Let’s define what are considered business assets. Start making a list of anything you consider valuable to the company and its success. Tangible and intangible business assets. Tangible assets are physical such as office equipment, buildings and vehicles used by the business. Intangible assets are generally defined as intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, copyrights and exclusive trade secrets.
Once you have a list of the many assets in your business, think about and focus on what happens with each asset.
Consider what may be some not so obvious assets to your business. The company website can be on this business asset list. So can social media including LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook, for example. Ask yourself: What is the website doing for the business? Be specific. Ask the same question with each social media platform. Then ask: What is it not doing for the business?
The people who work at your business are an asset too. For example, the employees who are part of the sales team: Are they always prospecting for new business? Do they have appointments with potential new customers? Do they follow up with current customers? Is the sales team building your business not just for today but for the future? Does the marketing department deliver an on-target message to your audience? How can both the sales and marketing employees become even more of an asset to your company through their efforts to bring in more business – and to keep the business you have?
Every single aspect of your company is a business asset.
It really doesn’t matter how you divide it all from a business asset perspective. For example, consider the shipping department at your company. However the size of the job, without shipping, you can’t do business effectively or efficiently. Now consider the production or manufacturing department. Review how every machine and/or tool is important – how it’s an asset.
Take every part of your business and think to yourself: How am I using that specific part of my business? How I am utilizing that particular segment with its equipment and people?
If it all comes together properly, it’s not just one aspect doing well or you doing one thing well in the business that brings success. One simple thing can cause everything else not to work or function properly. For example: If the sales department isn’t operating well, then what happens when the company loses a customer? How do you find another customer? How soon? If the marketing department isn’t working to its fullest capabilities, how then is the company presented well to the world? How do you convince potential customers or clients to do business with you? What will attract people to your company and its products or services?
As a CEO, president or business owner, you need to look at your business as a group of modules that all go together. If the modules are not working well together then nothing works well.
Why Are You In Business?
Question: What’s the goal in business?
Answer: To make a profit.
Without profit there can be no sustainable business.
If your business isn’t making a profit and things in general are not going well then you have to ask yourself: Why is that? Then, get to the root cause of the issue or problem immediately.
There will always be aspects of the business that work well and others that do not work well. You absolutely must address what is not working well in your business. Look at those specific assets not working as well as they should and ask: What is wrong here? What aren’t we doing as a company? Why are we missing the mark?
Dig as deep as necessary to get the answers you need. Don’t be afraid to take whatever it is on directly. You can’t hide under your desk (or any other place) and think everything is going to be okay because it’s not going to be okay!
Remember: Leaders Lead
The only person who can make things okay in the business is YOU!
You must be a leader.
As I always advise successful CEOs, presidents and business owners: Leaders lead.
Leaders…
- See a vision for the business
- Create the business
- Develop the business
- Understand what’s not right with the business
- Set the example to everyone working at the company
- Help employees to reach their potential.
As a CEO, president or business owner you are an asset to the company – or are you? If you’re not doing what successful business leaders do, then the company won’t work well.
Many CEOs, presidents and business owners just do “stuff”. They put the key in the door in the morning and right away get caught up in the “stuff” of the day. They don’t stop to think about strategy. They don’t stop to think about what they really should be doing. Instead, it’s about putting out one emergency or issue after another. And the day is suddenly gone. This happens because people in the company aren’t trained properly in their roles and the organization isn’t set up as well as it could be.
What to do next?
Even if you only remotely see this relating to your company you should take the time to ensure business assets are to your best advantage.
Take every part of your business and separate it all out. See how each segment fits into the rest of your business. Study it. Understand it. Know it inside-out. If there is a part of your business that’s not working, find out why and make it right. Then go onto the next part of your business and repeat.
Keep in mind that things at your company might be going along just fine right now. But all of a sudden, things could not be so fine because business is always changing.
Something is always happening that can influence the success of your business.
The way you do business may have suddenly changed over recent weeks and months. Possibly due to current events in the news or in your industry. Perhaps someone who always did a great job is suddenly not as reliable or resigned from the company leaving a gap in your workforce. Maybe a customer you thought would always be there suddenly isn’t and you wonder where the next customer will come from.
Business may have changed but the fundamentals of business remain the same.
As a CEO, president or business owner, keep your eyes and ears open. Keep your mind open to new ideas or ways of doing things. Understand exactly what is going on in your business day by day, week by week, month by month. The only way to do that is to set up the business so extraordinarily well that your employees are taking care of the company while you can be the visionary and strategist you are meant to be.
In these times, think of your business in a different way. Think of it in ways other business people don’t think about it; who just show up to work each day. Be the star who absolutely understands every part of your business. There may be tough days but you will prosper. That’s why it’s important to use your business assets to the best advantage.
To your success!
Business expert and strategist, Howard Lewinter, guides – focuses – advises CEOs, presidents and business owners throughout the United States across a wide range of industries, to MORE success – MORE profit – less stress. Business people trust Howard’s vast business knowledge, practical advice, intuitive insight and objective perspective to solve business problems and issues. Get MORE from your business! Talk business with Howard: 888-738-1855.
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You may also want to read this business article by Howard Lewinter: