Chris Kaday -business Coach and Mentor Advises Exposing and Closing Your Vulnerabilities

One of my managers used to say I was ‘gung ho’ in business. I am certainly pretty fearless certainly about making decisions but she meant I was reckless which probably said more about her fears than mine. I like to rest easy at night and this means reviewing all possible vulnerabilities and having strategies to neutralise them.

There are many companies out there particularly in the marketing services sector which have one client which accounts for over 50% of their business. They are usually aware of this dependency and will cite the problem in strategy meetings. But I would not rest easy until I have no one client worth more than 10% of my business which was in fact part of my growth strategy.

The same applies to staff. In small companies it is very possible to have one star whose sales performance accounts for a significant percentage of revenues. Reviews focus on keeping this individual happy and retained and there is a constant dread that he or she will go taking their contribution with them. Now I would certainly encourage and acknowledge the star but largely leave them alone. I would certainly not automatically make them a manager as good salespeople do not necessarily make great managers. In my experience the reverse is true. My strategy would be to put all my efforts into finding and developing other staff so my reliance on someone who is bound to go at some stage is significantly reduced.

Vulnerabilities abound in every business situation, one main supplier, one route to market, one product, a contract which was negotiated in good faith at the time but now creates an exposure and so on. I am an advocate of doing a few things well rather than a lot of things badly but vulnerabilities are what used to keep me awake at night. It is no use continually considering ‘what if?’ when the chances of that exposure arising as a major issue which could threaten the very existence of the business at some time in the future are almost certain.

I suppose I react adversely to the idea of being dependant on anyone or anything. I don’t think this is borne out of any insecurity but the need to feel secure if I am investing cash in people premises products and so on to grow a business. It is prudent to close the gaps. This approach also makes the business a really valuable property when you come to sell it as no one wants to invest in an enterprise which is vulnerable in any respect.

So have a look around your business today. What is your greatest exposure? Where are you most vulnerable? What keeps you awake at night? Maybe it is time to address the issue head on as there are usually alternatives to any situation even if they might take some effort to implement.

Chris Kaday is a business coach and mentor with lots of great advice on growing your business on his site www.chriskaday.co.uk