As the leader of a scaling business, you’ll be used to juggling a lot of plates. It’s an exciting time, full of opportunity, and it can be all too tempting to say yes to every offer that comes along.
But, taking on too much risks a lot of things: burnout, loss of focus, missed opportunities. As a scale-up leader, you need to keep things in balance, making sure you say yes to the right things while having the confidence to say no to everything else.
So, what is the right mix?
Follow your focus
You know what your business is, who it serves and how it does so – it is what has got you from start-up to scale-up. As you grow, there will be other opportunities that come your way which may tempt you on to a different path, away from the thing which made your business so successful in the first place.
Sometimes, it will be worth taking that opportunity but it’s important that you don’t allow it to consume everything else. Make sure you give proper time and attention to your key projects and activities.
Make them take no for an answer
As you grow your business, you’ll have more people to delegate to. While this is necessary for your business to grow – and will inevitably give you more time to steer the ship – it will also create a new dynamic for you as leader.
Your Head of Marketing will inevitably feel that their project is more important than the idea that Sales insists is a top priority. It will be your job to decide which to say no to, balancing making your team feel heard with making the right decisions at the right time for your business. It may be difficult for you to say no to these projects, especially when people close to you are insistent, but it’s vital you and your business only take on what you can handle.
The power of prioritisation
Sometimes you don’t need to say ‘no’ but you should say ‘not now’. We often see scale-ups try to move forward with several different projects at once, which isn’t efficient or sustainable. Consider everything that’s on your plate and focus on key areas a few at a time, keeping things manageable.
EOS is a brilliant tool for managing prioritisation – and one we use personally. EOS helps us to prioritise and structure our internal projects so we can proceed at the right pace.
Have confidence in your convictions
As David Packard, co-founder of HP, said, “More companies die of indigestion than starvation”. All too often we see scale-up businesses struggling because they have taken on too many things at once.
Having a good understanding of your financial KPIs – your revenue growth, cashflow, customer acquisition cost, for example – can help you to make well-informed decisions. You can confidently say no to the wrong opportunities, while knowing that you are focusing on the areas that are right for your business.
It can be difficult and sometimes nerve-wracking to say no to opportunities that come your way while you’re scaling a business. But, saying no to the wrong things helps you to ensure sustainable growth – and allows you to say yes to the things that will really make a difference to your business.