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Build a faster and more agile business

8 powerful ways to build a faster, more agile business - a guest blog by Charles McLachlan

This blog is written by the highly successful Charles McLachlan, who is Chairman of Academy Group 27 & Academy Group 11 and co-founder of the Transformation Development Partnership. He has very kindly shared with us his wisdom when it comes to running a successful business.

Business today is all about doing things faster-making decisions faster, identifying trends faster, making mistakes faster, and getting products to market faster. However, you can’t become a faster, more agile organisation by just snapping your fingers and wishing it so. You’ve got to first take a number of specific actions that will prepare the members of your team to embrace the transformation. If your markets are changing, which they almost always are, what can you do to stay ahead? In a word, you cultivate agility.
Here are eight specific actions that you can take right now to create a business that is faster, more resilient and more agile.
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1. Create focus

It’s easy to be distracted by a long list of priorities–and the everyday emergencies and distractions that pop onto our schedules unexpectedly. Create focus by paring down your priorities to a short list of just three or four that absolutely must be done. As you complete each item, then add another to your list.
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2. Communicate a clear vision of your intended future

If you want the members of your team to get to where you want them to go–when you want them to get there–then you’ve got to provide them with a clear and compelling vision of the future. The better your people understand your big-picture objectives, the more quickly they can make the right decisions for your company.

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3. Hire the right people and deploy them in the most effective way

To be agile, you must have employees who are aligned with your vision and values – and who have or can build the capabilities you need to succeed. This means that you absolutely must get the right people in the right positions in your company – all pulling together, in the same direction.
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4. Set an example

As a leader, you set the example for the members of your team to follow. Communicate widely and often, and be honest and transparent. Set the bar high, and your people will follow.
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5. Enhance autonomy

Your organisation cannot be fast and agile if people have to keep running to you–or to your senior management team–every time a decision has to be made. Push decision-making authority and autonomy down the chain of command, and give your people control over how they do their work.
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6. Plan for the unexpected

Smart leaders build flexibility into their budgeting and other processes to quickly accommodate changes in their business environments. While the unexpected is by its very nature unpredictable, you can build an organisational culture that can pivot quickly when unexpected events happen.
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7. Implement continuous innovation

A business that doesn’t innovate is a business that will be quickly left behind. Instead of only occasionally rolling out innovative and new products and services, continuously improve and enhance them in real time. Your customers will benefit, as will your bottom line.
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8. Create a motivating purpose

Chances are, you are in business not just to make money, but to make a difference in the world. People want their work–and the companies they choose to work for–to make a difference. Be sure to communicate the greater purpose of your company to your people regularly, and involve them in making it a reality.
 

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