Complacency is a Curse. Here’s How to Avoid It

Running a company can be really hard. But when everything lines up just right, you hit a stride.

The business feels like a well-oiled machine and almost seems to run itself. This is true not just for startup entrepreneurs but also for people who lead departments in larger organizations.

But of course, business is never really easy. Just when you’re riding the wave, a crash always lurks up ahead.

So if you’re fortunate enough to be in a positive place with your business, understand that this is the very time to become uncomfortable and take a hard look at every aspect of the operation.

A business should always be thinking about how to reinvent, even when the revenue is rolling in and morale is high.

Here are six moves to consider to avoid complacency:

1. Increase the return on investment.

Look for low-hanging fruit. Incremental process improvements, raising the cost of goods sold in order to control demand, and reducing costs by introducing new tools and automation are great ways to raise your game without breaking a big sweat..

2. Increase scalability.

How can your organization grow? Consider subcontracting some work to scale the business. Just make sure you’re doing so cost-effectively.

3. Add to your portfolio.

What additional goods or services might you be able to bring to market?

Make sure you understand the potential market and the specific opportunity for the business. Be deliberate about what you take on. And do plenty of sales enablement.

4. Look for additional routes to market.

Consider new sales channels, freshening sales assets, and meeting with sales teams to help them sell better. Even if you’re at capacity, keep an eye on sales. Worse case, you’ll need to grow the organization to meet additional demand.

5. Streamline.

How can you make the organization run more efficiently? Are you getting value from every part of the operation? If not, why does it exist?

Is every process smart, from how you track sales leads to how you onboard employees? Leave no stone unturned.

6. Make things better for the team.

Investigate employee attitudes and make sure to do what they want, not just what you think they want. For example, employees may desire more and better training. Do you know that?

A workforce that feels like its essential needs are being taken care will be happier and more successful. Even when times seem good — especially when they do — as a company owners or business unit leader, you must take a holistic approach and examine every part of the organization that could be better poised for the future.

You can’t focus on just one area.

If you only ever improve the employee experience, costs skyrocket. If you only ever go after efficiency, you will alienate individual contributors. If you continually add to your portfolio then the organization will seem chaotic.

And understand that it’s very difficult to try to tackle every improvement area simultaneously. Take a balanced approach, constantly communicate with employees about what’s going on and why, and you might just stay in the happy zone for a long time to come.