Business Head's Mindset for Sustainable Growth

In any business, there are peak and valley in terms of sales growth and profitability. However, a few organizations thrive well all the cycles and been in the business for a longer time, some organizations exist even beyond the third generation. 

When I observe those organizations, when I deal with them as a consultant and coach, there are some typical patterns among the founders or the business heads. I can call those patterns as the mindset of the founder or the business head, which makes the business to manage through all the struggles and sustaining the growth.

I can classify the mindset into three areas

1. Mindset towards the Business

2. Mindset towards the People or Employees

3. Mindset towards the Customer

1. Mindset towards the Business:

In a sustainable business, the business head looks at the business with a larger purpose than just survival alone. He/ she is looking at the business as a means to maximize all the stakeholder's interests or expectations. The stakeholder could be financial institutions, employees, customers, even the promoters, suppliers, government, and the society in which business is operating. It does not mean that profit motive is absolutely absent, they also realize that rich cash reserve only will do all the activities to maximize the stakeholder's expectation. The point is they look at the business more than themselves. Their thought process, behaviors and decision making are all pointed towards meeting or maximizing the stakeholder's interest.

2. Mindset towards the People or Employees:

In a sustainable business, the business head always looks at the employees as an Asset rather than Commodity. This mindset is essential in making decisions on development, training, allowing the people to experiment, taking the risk, empowering people to make decisions, and providing an opportunity for learning and to grow along with the organization. Alternatively, if the business head looks at the people as a commodity, he treats them also in a low-level dignity, because he believes that there is abundance in people resources, even if x leaves the organization, Y can be recruited quickly from the market. With the mindset, no effort would be taken towards people's development and engagement aspects. 

I know in one of the organizations, the CEO looks at each people as an asset, and some of the people are staying in the organization for more than 30 years and also had grown along with the organization by developing themselves and contributing to the organizational growth.

3. Mindset towards Customer:

In a sustainable business, the business head looks at each customer from a long term perspective even though there is a loss of monetary benefit in the short term. The focus of the business head would be meeting or exceeding the customer's expectation, maintaining a cordial relationship with the customer irrespective of the customer's representative that is changing at the customer's end.

As stated above organization, the business head works with only a few customers for more than 25 years and grown along with the customer. Even when the business head expands his business beyond the old customers, the customer is keen to work with the organization. The relationship is based on the long term, and the bonding helps both of them in terms of mutual growth.

The point is the business head's mindset towards business, customers, people make a significant impact on the sustainability of the business!