Updated on May 2, 2023

In some industries, the pandemic resulted in increased rather than decreased demand. How do we manage the challenges of a sudden growth?

Rapid growth may or may not be planned. It could be the result of acquisitions, market opportunities (partnerships, new products, etc.) or even caused by a situation out of your control, such as COVID-19, which triggered the demand to explode in certain sectors.

When an organization’s growth is sudden and unplanned, it can have many impacts, particularly on production, distribution, the supply chain, and human and material resources.

As an entrepreneur, you must be equipped to stay the course and anticipate changes.

Expand your vision

When your business grows rapidly, this can be an opportunity to branch out in a new direction and grow your business model. You could choose to develop new products or, conversely, refocus your production on the most profitable or future-oriented products. However, before revising your strategy, it’s important to know the value of your products and services.

You also need to ask yourself what happens next. Growth can continue exponentially or be a temporary trend. As no one can predict the future, assess the different aspects that could influence the growth curve in order to minimize your risks and help you make the right decisions.

• How will your market evolve?
• What are your clients’ medium- and long-term needs?
• What position would you like to occupy in your market?

The answers to these questions will help determine what sets you apart from the competition and what meets the needs of your niche market clients.

To anticipate the future, leaders must be aware of movements in their market and society, and try to expand their vision to get an overall view.

Often, the main concern of entrepreneurs who are experiencing significant growth is to prepare the next orders and get supplies. However, they must also be aware of the long term. Otherwise, they run the risk of not anticipating future elements that could hinder their growth.

They must also gauge their own ability to pursue growth, even if it means slowing down for a bit if this is more reasonable for the longevity of their organization.

Adopt a dynamic strategy

Your strategy must be thoughtful and consistent with your business goals, but it cannot remain static. Your strategic planning must include a regular review and performance indicators that will allow you to judge results and adjust along the way.

Regular strategic meetings will help you continue to make the right choices for achieving your goals. Take breaks to reflect on your issues and any feedback you receive from clients, employees and partners.

Regularly take the pulse of the market to ensure that you are still in line with its evolution and with the needs of your employees and clients. Their feedback will help you make the right partnership choices and take the most promising paths for your business.

Keep your long-term vision in mind while readjusting short-term goals, even if it means reviewing your action priorities.

Plan for valuation methods

You need to have an overview of your production and assess the mechanisms and tools in place to achieve your goals, including human, material and budgetary resources.

Establish an operating framework and specific procedures and control methods. Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each person. Otherwise, you run the risk of exceeding costs, ending up with a lower quality product/service, or surplus, or deviating from your objectives along the way.

Integrate technology into your strategic plan

Nowadays, performance and technology go hand in hand. To achieve its strategic objectives and sustain its growth, an organization must include a digital transformation component in its plan.

This is what will allow you to optimize processes and bolster quick and accurate decision-making, with more precise anticipated results.

Analytics and business intelligence tools can help you plan for operational needs and meet customer demand efficiently.

Furthermore, growth is often hindered by a shortage of labour. Technology is one way to overcome this barrier, as automating certain tasks frees up staff to take on value-added roles.

However, the tools you have in place and those you plan to acquire must align with the long-term strategic vision and reflect the evolution that is underway.

If your business is facing sudden growth, it is even more important to take a step back to see the big picture. A digital transformation audit will allow you to take stock and implement a plan that fits your situation.

To meet your immediate needs, the first step of the plan will prioritize the most profitable solutions for you in the short term. However, these solutions will be integrated into a set of changes spread out over a period of three to five years, since this is a progressive investment that aims to ensure the longevity of your business and achievement of your objectives.

All teams, in every department of the company (including the IT team), play a role in the changes underway. It is important that everyone understand the company’s strategic vision and contribute to the implementation of the action plan and its success.

Know your break-even point

The right tools can help you be more efficient. An effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will give you an accurate picture of inventory, cash flows and open orders, and provide you with useful data on your clients and suppliers.

You need to have a clear picture of your costs and understand where your profitability lies in order to calculate your break-even point.

There are many questions to consider, such as:

• Do you have the right system for managing an increased number of requests per day?
• Should you re-evaluate your agreement with certain providers taking into account the volume of products to be offered (e.g., get a volume discount)?
• Should your price be set according to the market share you want to capture?
• Should you reinvest profits into automation?
• Do you benefit from focusing on a single product to increase production capacity or would it be better to expand your product line?

Having a competent CFO is crucial, as he or she will be responsible for ensuring that all clients are charged the right price, all suppliers are paid and that cash flows are well managed.

Your decisions should not only be based on your financial statements. You need to know the profitability of your products and your market and stay focused on the business’s growth objectives.

Assess the new skills needed

As a business grows, it may require more manpower, but you may also want to review the skill profiles you need. New needs may require a different type of leadership, for example.

In the context of change, the most sought-after qualities in employees are agility and versatility. It is essential that newcomers buy into your business culture to help it grow.

When growth is rapid, managers may need to outsource work to meet short-term demand. You will have to prepare and structure your organization’s foundation in order to get the talent you need for the long term.

Include a health component in your analysis

Nowadays, we can no longer afford to neglect the health of employees and managers. This factor carries a lot of weight when it comes to making choices. Not only do we need to consider the resources we have in place, but we also need to prevent burnout, which could otherwise lead to absenteeism and ultimately productivity issues.

Involve your employees in the steps leading to your evolution. Open the dialogue with your staff, be transparent. Communicate with them so that they feel part of the changes, remain engaged and work together in the same direction.

Sudden growth is a source of uncertainty. You need to be prepared for everything, have a long-term vision and be flexible in order to adapt quickly. To do this, effective tools and competent leaders will contribute to your success.

Updated on September 21, 2023

Businesses launch many projects each year. Properly planning each project will foster its success.

Is your organization planning on expanding operations? Does it want to make an acquisition? Does it need to implement a digital transformation or make changes to redirect its business model? It’s important to know your objectives and assess the impacts of each project in order to prepare. Here are essential steps for efficient project management.

1. Properly determine the objectives targeted by each project

Before anything, you must ensure that the project that you want to carry out will meet part of the objectives you’ve prioritized in your strategic business plan. As there could be many possible solutions, is this project the most appropriate and is it the right time to make it happen?

• How will the project’s content provide a winning solution?
• Will completing this project help meet various needs within the organization?
• To what extent does it align with and where does it rank in the strategic plan?
• What resources are required within the organization to carry out the project?

2. Setting the project’s expected results

Prior to starting, you must plan for concrete, precise measures that will enable you to confirm along the way that the project will yield the expected results. Make sure to:

• Thoroughly define three or four of the project’s measurable performance indicators;
• Have management or the Board of Directors validate these performance targets;
• Develop the project taking the indicators into account.

3. Determine the risks and restrictions

From the get-go, picture possible obstacles in order to minimize their impacts, for all aspects of the project:

• The required timelines before completing the project;
• The level of resources required to define and implement the project;
• Foreseeable impacts on the organization;
• Human resources;
• Changes in the market;
• The necessary technologies;
• Etc.

4. Plan the project

Each step is important and must be carried out in the right order. Before starting, you must plan for each step. Don’t leave anything to chance. Take an overall look at the required items, then determine their level of importance and what needs to be prioritized. Take the time to:

• Detail all activities needed to carry out the project;
• Determine the human, financial and technological resources that will be required;
• Highlight the “critical path”, the activities essential to the success of the project and the timetable;
• Choose how the project will be carried out (project manager, level of involvement and consultation with the team, etc.);
• Take a step back when developing the project (to avoid hasty projects);
• Analyze the possible organizational impacts of the project (minor or major) within the organization as well as its ability to undertake it.

5. Select what assistance is available, based on your needs

You need to assess which resources are available, internal or external, that you could obtain to support you during the completion of the project:

• Which organizations or professionals could provide support during the project?
• Which financial assistance programs could apply to the project?
• Define, as needed, a canvassing or network plan to make it easier to complete the project.

6. Validate the eligibility to financial assistance programs

Financial assistance is not obtained automatically. You must take into account the terms and conditions, assess whether your business respects the eligibility criteria, and, as applicable, get help from professionals during your application to ensure that you meet all of the conditions and adequately highlight your project and returns for your business. Make sure to:

• Take the following criteria into account: eligible clients, appreciation criteria, priority criteria;
• Prepare a structure request that stands out;
• Call on the services of professionals or experts in the field for major projects.

7. Carry out the project

Don’t ease up on your vigilance once the project has begun. Each step is important and you must pay attention to all details while completing it. You must, in particular:

• Ensure the organization’s level of commitment at project start-up (change management is a must);
• Be thorough and disciplined to meet the expected deadline and performance targets;
• Keep the momentum going when carrying out the project through regular and adequate communications;
• Plan an evaluation activity once the project is finished in order to determine the highlights and lowlights, and get back on track if needed for other steps or for the next project.

Nothing can be left to chance when setting up projects. The more prepared and organized you are, the higher the chances of success for your business.

For support throughout the process, don’t hesitate to contact a team of competent professionals.

This article was written with Serge Plourde.

Updated on September 21, 2023

Participatory governance is an asset for companies that want to improve the quality of their decisions and engage their employees.

The shift from vertical decision-making to participatory governance, that is, from CEO to committees, is an undeniable trend. This model emphasizes autonomy and cooperative relationships. In addition to fostering employee commitment and retention, it helps to improve decision-making and the organization’s performance.

Throughout your organization’s life, several situations provide an opportunity to review your governance strategy so it is better aligned with your objectives. For example:

• You have a development project and want to introduce an innovation culture.
• A new business partner requires you to assess your governance.
• You want to reinforce your team’s engagement to maximize results.

These pivotal moments are an opportunity for you to consider implementing a new model.

What are the benefits of participatory governance?

Good governance is not just a matter of assigning tasks. It’s about sharing responsibilities strategically. By taking into account each of your managers’ expertise and vision, you allow them to offer the best of themselves and you benefit from a wide range of skills. There are many advantages to this diversity:

• Gaining broader perspectives to foster vision and innovation;
• Obtaining new information to capitalize on business opportunities (new markets, developing the offering, digital transformation, etc.);
• Improving the connection with the needs and goals of all stakeholders (employees, clients. business partners, investors, etc.);
• Empowering and engaging each governance body and retaining key employees;
• Enhancing risk management and optimizing control and compliance;
• Ending the leader’s isolation;
• Ensuring greater transparency and improving the preparation of successors.

A participatory governance structure makes it possible to better meet challenges, whatever your organization’s development stage. Whether you’re starting up, contemplating a strategic partnership or considering a major investment, business partners and investors will have the reassurance of seeing a leader with solid support and a robust decision-making process.

In the case of a business transfer, participatory governance is the ideal approach to integrate the buyers gradually, while providing the support of an experienced team.

How to implement a successful governance structure?

In this governance transformation, the entrepreneur becomes coach and advisor. The entrepreneur will define the vision as a team, mobilize employees and help them accomplish their responsibilities instead of carrying the burden alone. But where do you start?

Reflect on your type of governance

The transition can be gradual so everyone can adjust to the change. How much of your power do you want to share? What do you expect from this new vision of governance? Take the time to think about it and be ready to question your way of seeing things, because more people will be involved in defining the organization’s future.

Start with committees

Setting up committees is a good way to get started. Do you already have an executive committee? Add an HR or innovation committee, or a family council if it’s a family business. You can also have project teams or an advisory committee and, eventually, a board of directors. In all cases, you should have a delegation of authority policy that formalizes the authority delegated to the governance body. Clarity makes everything run more smoothly.

Select profiles according to the skills required

You can then list the profiles you are looking for and select people based on their skills, ability to challenge, expertise in the subject matter and knowledge of the business sector.

Look for diversity in the profiles: gender, age, background, culture, expertise. You can also recruit someone from outside, for example a long-standing client or business partner, someone who understands your challenges, who can bring a new perspective, in addition to a network and market knowledge.

Determine the frequency

When these steps are completed, you will need to determine the frequency and duration of meetings, and then prepare an agenda (and relevant documents to be sent in advance) to allow members to contribute fully. Consistency is important, and the frequency should ensure a good work pace without complicating or slowing down operations.

Follow up

It is important to put the decisions into action; otherwise, you will create a sense of cynicism and disengagement. You must assign responsibilities and follow up on planned actions, budgets and progress.

If roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, it is possible to have multiple committees in a governance structure. Be proud of your model and talk about it to your business partners, clients and lenders: you’ll be showing that you’re serious about your business.

Don’t hesitate to call on an external expert who will take the time to build trust and guide you through the development of your governance strategy and change management.