Growing and midsize companies often start with a business plan and financial projections, but treat them as a work-in-progress. They've found that in today's fast-paced, ebusiness environment, keeping a step ahead is no simple party trick.
In today's technology-driven world, business life cycles have accelerated exponentially, but good management basics always apply. The challenge is to keep ahead of changing market conditions, new technologies and human resource issues.
Just how quickly companies need to be able to move will depend on their industry, current life cycle stage, and where they're going. For Internet companies, the traditional business development stages are significantly compressed. Internet businesses are focused on building brand, market share, and going public as quickly as possible. Filling out key management positions, and developing information systems, key business processes, and controls are sometimes overlooked when running to build a brand or market share, but they are critical to the success of any public company.
Checklists
The checklists included below has been designed to help any growing or midsize business to:
- Identify its stage of business development
- Anticipate future pitfalls
- Map out a plan to move from one stage of growth to the next
They will direct your attention to issues related to cash management, asset management, marketing, management reporting, and information systems - all you need is a pencil to get started.
