While hugely rewarding, running a business can be tough. In the very early stages, you have to be everything to everyone – CEO to HR to tech support and everything in between – but the focus is on understanding your customer’s challenges and building a compelling proposition and brand that cater to their needs.
Planning for the future is an important part of leadership, but there are unpredictable events beyond our control can turn everything upside down overnight. Take Covid, for example. It forced the nation into a completely different way of working. And most recently the cost-of-living crisis has made many business owners consider the changes they may need to make to weather the storm.
Amidst this ever-changing backdrop, how can we maximise the chances of success? Below are some tips that have helped me over the years.
Prioritise people, always
This is non-negotiable. My crew are at the heart of every decision I make. A trusted, appreciated, and happy team is the lifeblood of a successful business.
As CEOs and founders, it is our responsibility to build an inclusive and open culture that prioritises physical and mental wellbeing, whilst making sure every employee has the opportunities to develop and is given the support they need to succeed.
I’m immensely proud that Cynozure has recently been shortlisted for DataIQ’s Best Place to Work in Data award. I truly believe that our team is central to what makes us successful and am always looking for new ways to go above and beyond to make sure each individual feels inspired and motivated.
Use data to make better business decisions
Data has a critically important, but often overlooked, role to play in decision making. The insights it provides can be used to inform decisions on a whole host of issues, from resource allocation, to tracking performance, to evaluating progress towards goals.
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Done right, using data strategically and operationally can help make faster, more accurate decisions and empower organisations to operate more efficiently, increase growth their prospects and boost productivity.
Build relationships that can withstand ups and downs
While customer and stakeholder relationships may not always be plain sailing, there are ways to make the rough patches less challenging.
One such way is to build authentic and honest relationships with clients and customers, where channels of communication are always open. In doing so, teams on both sides are empowered to throw themselves fully into projects without concern for maintaining formal, forced relationships that rely on consistent loops of false positive feedback.
The outcome? Better results, more engaged partners and customers, and lasting relationships that are more likely to result in repeat work.
Be adaptable and resilient
How much easier would running a business be if we could predict the future?! In lieu of a crystal ball, two of the most valuable weapons in our armoury are adaptability and resilience.
This can come in different forms. Take the pandemic, for example. Physically, being equipped with the right hardware – laptops, monitors and so forth – meant we were able to adapt seamlessly to remote working.
The mental element is equally if not more important. Having a positive, solution-focused mindset can help you to respond more constructively to challenges and, in turn, be more resilient when it comes to handling external pressures.
While I am by no means claiming that any of these tips are the silver bullet to success, each of the tips outlined above have helped me, and our customers, to create a fertile environment for business growth.
By Jason Foster
About the author
Jason Foster is CEO and Founder of Cynozure, a data strategy consultancy. Listed in the Sunday Times Fastest Growing 100, the company recently announced it has more than doubled in size for the second year in a row, as well as tripling its geographic reach in the space of 12 months.
