Looking Inward – Why Success Starts With Your Business’ Foundations

Can you articulate the business foundations that you have established in your workplace? Chances are you have an overarching understanding of what they are, but it’s been a while since you checked in with what they look like now and what they should be in the future.

Success starts with your business foundations, so let’s find out why that is and what the next steps are for you and your business.

It starts with your tools

You can’t expect to do the task at hand without the right tools in place. Equipping your business with the right building blocks will set a strong foundation of growth in your field, and will improve your output exponentially.

A business with the right tools is one that has adequate software, modern technology, the right training, and administration tools like printers and HP toner cartridges to support productivity.

Individuals have a way of getting used to what they have, and if you start out with poor tools then a less than the satisfactory result is inevitable. This is an area that is often glossed over, so don’t make the mistake of undervaluing your business tools.

Establish your business vision

A clear business vision is what your foundations hinge on, and failure to adopt and communicate a vision may be more detrimental than you think.

If you plan on mapping your vision out in the near future, ensure that it is a conversation that you have with your wider stakeholders. Your employees will not resonate with a business vision that does not relate to their daily tasks or reason for completion, and if it doesn’t work to inspire the ranks then you have missed the point of a business vision.

Now before you think you need an MBA to engineer such a vision, know that the best ones are usually quite short and simple. Start the brainstorming session now and rein in from there.

Build processes and procedures where there are none

Name one business that could not benefit from improving their processes and procedures. You can’t. The truth is, the working week tends to get away from us, and those opportunities to learn from situations and historical data are lost.

Perhaps you have had an issue with staff retention which may be due to your job ads not accurately selling the role. This is an instant where you should stop recruitment and review your processes to ensure that any job ad being advertised has the approval of all line managers to avoid this issue.

If you look inwards, you will see that there are many more instances just like these, and improving upon them had the power to strengthen your business foundations.

Surround yourself with the right people

You may not believe that your people will impact your business foundation, but they are arguably one of the most critical elements of a successful operation. After all, they are the ones tasked with carrying out your business goals.

You cannot be everywhere at all times and you’ll need stalwarts who are going to represent your values and make sure that best practice is adhered to at all costs. Staff culture can make or break a business, setting a strong precedent for how things are done at work.

Make sure this precedence is a positive one, and work to empower and upskill your team so that they perform on your behalf.

Your business foundations should be an unseen force within your operations, but that’s not to say they don’t need nurturing along the way. Set your business up for success by following these directives, and review the outcome accordingly to inform future changes along the way.