Congratulations! Your business is in Stage 2, the Ramp-Up Stage. As the leader of a Stage 2 business, you’ve got a lot of demands on your time and attention. Where do you focus? How do you prioritize?
What research has shown us is that each Stage has its own rules and guidelines. The more you understand the rules, the better you can navigate growth. In other words, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and figure everything out on your own. Instead, you can benefit from what hundreds of other business owners have learned.
Following is a brief overview of what those rules look like for a Stage 2 business. If you’d like to go deeper, keep reading and explore the resources linked below.
A Quick Overview of Stage 2
Although your team is still fairly small, you should already be preparing for future growth by identifying and developing three supervisors. You also want to make sure that the entire team is grounded in the same core values (those are the promises you make to each other as a team).
Cash flow is probably a challenge, so keep your focus on selling—not just once in a while, but every single day. You should establish clear brand values (the promise to the market), so you have a strong brand identity. While overall you are in an innovative phase of the company, the pace of change should be slightly slower than it was in Stage 1 (when you had 1-10 employees).
Keep everyone on your team engaged and contributing by setting measurable markers of success (otherwise known as Key Performance Indicators). Be transparent about how the company makes and keeps money so that everyone is motivated to help. Clarify positions and roles, making sure the work is organized around the position and not the person who happens to be in that position. As a leader, your team needs you to develop its potential, set a high standard of performance, and exert influence to achieve success.
Go Deeper
Stage 2 Guidebook
The 60-minute Guide to Growth for businesses with between 11-19 employees is a must-have for every owner of a Stage 2 business. The Guidebook explains the primary dimensions of a Stage 2 business, including Leadership Style, Modality, Classic Challenges, and Transition Zones. Each chapter includes illustrations that bring the concepts to life along with practical applications questions you can apply to your business. Get your copy today!
Stage Card
The two-sided Stage Card is an easy way to keep the rules that are most beneficial for your Stage 2 business close at hand. Print a copy and keep it on your desk. Share it with your team. The better you understand the rules, the more focus and clarity you will provide as a leader. Get your free copy now!
Assessments
There are a variety of assessments you can access on our website. Each one addresses a specific area of business, such as leadership, finance, and workplace community. They only take about two minutes to submit, and you’ll receive a valuable download that explains how the rules in that particular area apply to a business of your size. Best of all, these assessments are free! Click the button to start exploring.
The 11 Elements of an Exceptional Business
In this new series—Organizational ReWilding: Elements of an Exceptional Business—we explore each element individually. Each book takes on a different element, explaining the underlying principles and illustrating what the application of those principles looks like in a business. At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a list of application questions designed to help you think through the concepts and apply them to your own situation.
Online Video Series
For those who prefer learning by video, the Stages of Growth Online Series is an excellent resource. Through a series of ten videos, you will learn about the key dimensions, or areas, that make up a business. For every dimension, there is an illustrative story, followed by the principles underlying that dimension, a quiz, and activities to help you apply the knowledge directly to your business.
“We’ve always had growth on our minds, and there are always challenges that come up. Working with the ReWild Group has helped us navigate those challenges, and instead of being so reactive, helped us be a lot more proactive, which has made everything a lot smoother.”
Find out what other business owners are saying about The ReWild Group.
Visit our Testimonials page to hear first-hand accounts of what other business owners have experienced with Organizational ReWilding®. You’ll find short videos, quotes, and case studies that illustrate the power of the methodology. Check back often for updates! The stories are growing rapidly. (Who knows? Yours might be next …)