| Why do businesses fail? The Small Business | | | | alignment, the field experiences tremendous energy |
| Administration in 2004 (latest year for available date) | | | | and improved performance happens. |
| identified the launch of 580,900 new employer | | | | Processes help to unite the forces and close any |
| businesses and the closing of 576,200. This report | | | | performance gaps between the forces. People |
| suggests that for every business failure another | | | | development process links strategic planning and |
| business took the chance to open and to fail. | | | | execution. Many companies have great strategic |
| Many business writers. business consultants and | | | | planning capacity, but fail to execute or implement |
| business coaches attribute business failure to a lack | | | | the performance change. |
| of strategic planning, a lack of leadership, a lack of | | | | Even if strategic planning and execution are OK, |
| vision, a lack of processes, the list is endless. Dan | | | | sometimes measurement of the desired results is still |
| Kennedy, a renowned marketing and sales expert | | | | lacking. A goal achievement process helps to bridge |
| said "That there is no business success or failure, but | | | | this gap. |
| rather people success and people failure." However, | | | | Between measurement and planning is the process of |
| the problem with identifying one reason for business | | | | quality. Reviewing the quality of the performance field |
| failure is the problem. | | | | helps to not only improve measurement, but |
| Businesses are complex by their very nature. To | | | | establishes a high performance culture of continuous |
| believe that only one factor will either make or break | | | | improvement. |
| a business is foolhardy and contributes to the silo | | | | All of these forces and processes operate within the |
| solution mentality. This approach is simply stated like | | | | eye of leadership. Effective leadership is necessary to |
| this: If I fix this one problem, then everything else is | | | | manage each of the forces as well as the processes. |
| OK. | | | | If effective leadership is not present, then the forces |
| Successful businesses harness what I call the | | | | fail to maximize their impact upon the field. |
| dynamic forces of performance - strategic planning, | | | | Take the time to look at the forces within your |
| execution and measurement. These forces, much like | | | | business along with the processes. Implement action |
| the forces in nature, act upon each performance field | | | | where necessary so that you will be one of those |
| such as profitability, customer service, growth and | | | | businesses that will not fail. |
| innovation to name a few. When all 3 forces are in | | | | |