Build The 2 C’s Before You Chase Growth
Growth is the ultimate goal for many businesses. It sparks excitement, brings new opportunities, and can lead to incredible success. However, chasing growth too early, without establishing a solid foundation, can be a costly mistake. It’s essential to first build the two C’s, capability and capacity within your organisation to ensure you can sustain and manage the influx of new clients, customers, and demands.
Why Building Capability and Capacity Comes First
Think of capability building as the groundwork for a skyscraper. Without a strong foundation, the glamorous structure you envision will eventually crumble. For businesses, this "foundation" refers to tools, systems, and most importantly, people who are prepared to meet your growing demands. Capacity is your opportunity to ensure those same people have the time to serve your new venture by taking on additional workload.
By defining the "who and what" in your human toolbox, you ensure that your business operates like a well-oiled machine. This includes hiring the right talent, optimising processes, and implementing the right systems to handle growth effectively. Without these in place, growth can quickly lead to bottlenecks, reduced service quality, and customer dissatisfaction, potentially damaging your reputation.
The Risks of Growing Without Capability
If businesses focus solely on chasing growth without preparation, they risk overwhelming their teams and infrastructure. Some of the most common pitfalls include:
- Operational Stress: Teams may become overburdened, leading to burnout and reduced productivity.
- Service Quality Concerns: Your ability to meet customer expectations may diminish the current offering of goods and services.
- Reputational Damage: A business that grows too fast without the capability to handle it risks disappointing customers and permanently damaging its reputation.
- Higher Costs: Hasty scalability often forces businesses into reactive decision-making, such as hiring under-qualified talent or implementing inefficient stopgap solutions.
The Benefits of Prioritising Prior to Growth
When businesses dedicate time and resources to building capability and capacity first, they set the stage for sustainable growth. Here’s how it pays off:
- Enhanced Efficiency
Streamlined processes and systems allow teams to work smarter, not harder. With the right infrastructure, scalability becomes seamless.
- Employee Satisfaction
Well-prepared teams experience less burnout and stress, leading to increased productivity and better retention rates.
- Customer Loyalty
Your clients notice when service quality remains consistent, even as your business grows, which fosters trust and long-term relationships.
- Adaptability
With established capabilities, your business can pivot more easily when unexpected challenges arise, whether they stem from growth or market shifts.
How to Build Capability in Your Business Strategy
Building capability requires deliberate effort and strategic planning. Below are actionable steps to start on the right path.
Assess Your Current Capability
Begin by evaluating where your business stands in terms of operational capacity, human resources, and infrastructure. Identify gaps that might make growth more complex.
Ask yourself:
- Do we have the right talent to scale operations? Are there skill gaps that need to be addressed?
- Are our current systems and technologies scalable?
- What processes can be optimised to enhance efficiency?
Invest in Human Capital
Your people are your most valuable asset. Here’s how to strengthen your workforce:
- Build Skills: Provide training and development programmes to upskill your existing workforce.
- Hire Strategically: Focus on hiring for the future, not just for the immediate term. Look for candidates who offer skills aligned with your growth trajectory.
- Foster Collaboration: Encourage open communication between departments to ensure alignment and mutual support.
Set Clear, Realistic Goals
Having a clear business strategy with realistic milestones helps prevent overextension. Growth should feel like a natural progression, not a stretch-too-thin operation.
Monitor, Learn, and Adapt
Growth isn’t a one-and-done milestone. Continuously monitor key metrics, gather feedback from your teams, and adapt your strategies accordingly. Regular evaluations ensure you are building capability in areas most critical to your success.
Building What’s in Front of You
Building capability before chasing growth is not just a smart business strategy, it’s a necessity for any organisation that aims for long-term success. Shift your focus to strengthening your foundation by investing in your people ahead of the curve. By doing so, you’ll be prepared to seize growth opportunities with confidence, knowing that your leaders are equipped to handle them.
Start laying the groundwork for sustainable success today. Focus on capability building now, speak with the NZIM team about your strategy, growth and leaders, we thrive when supporting you and your business to achieve more.