All activity in an organization falls into three fundamental areas: People, Profit, and Process. Think of each of these as a door or gate behind which lies opportunities for the organization to grow.
At any given Stage of Growth, the patterns observed in growing businesses suggest that there is an ideal order of prioritization of these three Gates. Said another way, one of these three holds the greatest opportunity for growth in your organization, based on your Stage of Growth.
The People Gate covers everything that affects the human resources of an organization. When you prioritize the People Gate of Focus, energy goes to the development and well-being of your employees. If you are improperly focused on People–meaning you are focused on People when your organization needs to you be focused on Profit or Process—you may find that your organization lacks the revenue or profit to grow, or you may find that your processes are not as mature as they need to be to handle existing or future volumes of business.
The Profit Gate covers everything that affects the organization's revenue and profitability. When you prioritize the Profit Gate of Focus, your energy focuses on activities that generate revenue and increase profits. If you are improperly focused on Profit, you may have disengaged employees and poor quality due to lack of process.
The Process Gate covers everything that affects the manual and automated processes and systems used by the organization. When you prioritize the Process Gate of Focus, your energy goes to developing, refining, and testing processes and systems. If Process is an improper focus, you may find that your organization lacks the revenue or profit to grow, or your people may feel overlooked.
Prioritizing the Gates of Focus
Each of these areas is important all the time. However, their ideal priority changes based on your Stage of Growth.
The Gates of Focus can be likened to having multiple children. All are important, but your focus changes based on the child’s age and needs. Just because a newborn needs a lot of attention does not mean the older children are not valued. A teenager may require more energy than a 10-year-old. All the children are equally important, but there are times where one child requires more attention and focus. Similarly, all the Gates of Focus are important, but the optimal priority changes as your business grows.
Keep in mind that most business leaders have a natural focus—a personal preference for one of the Gates. This area may be the one that comes easiest to the leader or is based on fundamental beliefs of how a good business is operated. While some leaders have been gifted with a talent for operations, others are skilled at engaging their people; others find prospecting and winning work to be second nature for them.
As the business leader, it’s important to recognize the need to adjust personal preferences toward People, Profit, or Process based on what the organization needs for its current Stage of Growth.
Businesses that fail to adhere to the Gates of Focus eventually experience the ramifications—plateauing, receding from prior heights, or oscillating between Stages. Sustainable growth is achieved when your organization stays aligned with each Stage’s Gates of Focus.
Discover the Gates of Focus Priorities for Your Business’s Stage of Growth
It’s simple to find out what the priorities should be at your organization among the Gates of Focus. The research has been completed—all you need to do is take the free assessment! Click below and in just two minutes you will have insight into which of the three Gates should be your top priority at this point in time.