Health authorities have, over the years, devoted a lot of resources and effort into dealing with what they call the ‘six childhood killer diseases.’ For the record, these dangerous diseases that pose serious threats to the child are measles, tetanus, diphtheria, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis and whooping cough. These are preventable and failure to effectively do so often leads to infant mortality. The authorities have therefore developed vaccines and an elaborate programme of preventive measures to combat them. These measures have achieved varying degrees of success in different countries. Similarly, there are a number of factors that threaten the survival and growth of young businesses. We have identified six of such ‘killer diseases’ that tend to hinder new businesses from growing. They are preventable but when left uncontrolled behave like weeds growing wildly on a farm. They end up battling with the main plant for oxygen, water and other nutrients. Searching out and destroying them is crucial for the survival and growth of any start-up business. Because of the danger they pose, we have termed them the 6 Business Killer Diseases.
1. The Wrong Team. The entrepreneur with a strong, skilled and highly motivated team has an advantage in implementing his/her vision over one who is saddled with an incompetent and uninspired team. It starts from the very top; you need great people as partners, managers and supervisors. Wrong people who smuggle themselves into your team are likely to frustrate the effort. It is imperative that you create recruitment systems that allow only competent and qualified people into your business. If you compromise on that in favour of unqualified religious affiliates, family members and old schoolmates, you might as well be arranging for the collapse and eventual demise of your business. They often end up compromising on the discipline levels and affecting team spirit in your business.
• Wrong Attitudes. The attitude of the members of the team will go a long way in determining how far the team can go. A bunch of excited, warm and friendly people will infect everyone with their enthusiasm. On the other hand, fear and shyness in any team will lead to loss of opportunities through immobility. Other teams suffer greatly because of a general feeling of complacency and arrogance. It is important to cultivate right attitudes in your team. The way you treat your employees is the same way they will treat your clients. You therefore need no imagination to know the kind of service your clients are getting. In the words of leadership guru, John Maxwell, “The only thing more contagious than a good attitude is a bad attitude.
• Financial Indiscipline. Owners of companies and partnerships must allow good corporate governance standards to take root right at the inception. They must discipline themselves to take salaries and work with budgets rather than dipping their hands into the business’ coffers whenever they have a funeral to attend or a major personal expenditure to make. Budgets must be tied to the company’s strategic direction in order to ensure consistent growth instead of building haphazardly. It is prudent at the early stages of the business to resist the temptation to compromise on the company’s financial health. The focus must be entirely on growing the business entity. That is the only way the business can survive and thrive.
• The Little ‘Foxes.’ Many businesses with great potential are destroyed by certain apparently insignificant things that most people easily take for granted. These ‘foxes’ are loopholes either in the business’ operating systems or management style that tend to imperceptibly gnaw away at the fabric of the company and destroy it little by little. Notable among these are petty cash mismanagement, absenteeism, complacency and a poor work ethic. Other ‘foxes’ are telephone abuse, inconsistency in quality, lack of integrity, the ‘big boss syndrome’ and the exploitation of purchasing systems. Sometimes, friends and family of the business owner openly flout laid-down company procedures and even procure the business’ services on credit without paying. When these things persist and are left unattended, those who are doing the right thing look at leadership to see if they will take action. The failure of leadership to do so discourages others from continually pursuing excellence.
• Lack of Vision/Impatience. Businesses that succeed are often those that have a clear vision or long-term perspective, and also the patience to see it through. Patience and perseverance are essential prerequisites for successfully implementing your vision. Business owners must avoid dissipating all the fruits of their first harvest on frivolous things and flashy cars in a bid to show others that they are making it. Keep doing the right thing even when it does not seem to be paying off in the short run. Galatians 6:9 in the Bible puts it this way, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” The problem is that most people get tired of doing things right and as a result give up and allow things to deteriorate till it is too late. The race to build a dream business is not a sprint but a marathon, which requires perseverance in the face of many difficulties.
• The Destroyers. Service providers and suppliers who do not understand your vision can cost you great victories and bring your business down through the delivery of inferior products or services. Similarly, your auditors, legal advisers and other stakeholders can easily become ‘destroyers’ when they fail to uphold the high standards you are working towards and cause you to stumble. Someone may propose a seemingly genuine or profitable business ‘deal’ which could turn out to be a hoax and set you many steps back. While some ‘destroyers’ may do so inadvertently, there are, sometimes, people whose avowed aim is to see your small business ruined. They are the ‘Herods’ and, to some extent, the ‘Pharaohs’ of your business. These kings in the Bible killed little children for fear of the threat they could pose when they grew up. Herod’s main fear was that a little baby had been born who would usurp his throne. There may be some people who feel the same way about your business. Sometimes, people like that try to creep into your business unawares, or plant ‘spies’ with the aim of destroying all the good that you have striven to achieve. You need to be on your guard against such evil machinations and pray for God to expose any such perpetrators around you. You must also continually refine the business’ operating systems and commit yourself to the procedures that evolve as a result. There are many instances when the only time the right process was skipped led to trouble. Growing your new business into a thriving corporate entity cannot happen overnight; neither is it attained by accident or wishful thinking. Business growth, like success in life, is not a destination but a journey that involves continuous commitment to customer satisfaction, product enhancement, organizational improvement and the unending pursuit of excellence.
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