Is your business a diamond in the rough or does it dazzle in the dark? What do diamonds and businesses have in common?
Almost anyone can run a business, but just running a business isn’t the same thing as running a successful one that ignites your passion. You don’t have to pass any tests to start a company and you certainly don’t have to take any specialist advice to help you run it, so how do you make sure your business is a polished diamond rather than a rough stone so that you can reap the rewards?
Visiting a jeweller recently, I spent an hour or so surrounded by dazzling, sparkly diamonds and it got me thinking about the business equivalent of the four Cs. In diamond terms the four Cs are cut, carat, clarity and colour. Every finished stone is assessed on each one of these four elements and given a rating. The better the rating, the more valuable and attractive the diamond is.
If you imagine your business at its start as a rough diamond, dug up from the ground and without someone with any expertise having cut and polished it, what are the things you need to work on to give it the value of a dazzling diamond? How would it rate right now and what do you need to do to improve that rating? Let me explain…
The four Cs in business
In my view the business equivalent of the four Cs are vision, purpose, strategy and accountability. It’s only by getting the right combination of all of these things that your business can become a valuable polished diamond. You could get one aspect right but not the others, and your business still wouldn’t be a stone with much value because all four aspects have to be aligned and optimised.
So, do you have a clear vision for your business? Do you know where you’re going, when and what your exit is and to whom – and are you planning for that now?
What’s your purpose for being in business – a better lifestyle, improved financial rewards, a desire to do things better than others in your industry or a passion for your product or service? And how do you review, evaluate and communicate it?
Time to plan
What is your strategy for creating the business which delivers your vision and purpose? How are you managing the five core elements of your business – people, operations, finance, marketing and sales? Can you hand-on-heart say that each of these areas is delivering results as you expect or are you spending time on tasks which are preventing you earning the money and creating the lifestyle you desire?
Who makes you accountable for delivering the results your strategy sets out? Are you missing or moving deadlines, letting yourself (or others) off, or expecting next month to be different, despite the fact you’re doing all the same things?
So, what do diamonds and businesses have in common?
These are the things that can take your business from a freshly mined diamond in the rough to that sparkling stone with a high value, prized by people for centuries. After all, a diamond is just a piece of charcoal that handled pressure well, then was expertly cut and polished to reveal its true beauty and sophistication.
Do you have a lengthy business plan and never look at it or maybe you have no plan at all? Many business owners don’t manage their company strategically, know what to focus on or measure daily, to have complete clarity and control.
If you would like to manage your business on a single page, access our tool here to get started: www.tendo-uk.com/plan
