Did you know that fundamental natural laws govern your business?
As a business leader, you may find this question a bit strange, but have you ever considered that your organization shares many parallels with a natural ecosystem? It is made up of ever-changing, inter-connected living resources—your employees—and when one area is impacted by something, the ripple effect is felt throughout the entire organization.
The fact is that every natural ecosystem, whether it is a forest or a commercial business, succeeds by aligning itself to fundamental natural laws that establish order and balance. I’m going to refer to these laws as Non-Negotiable Rules, which basically define the rules that a business must follow in order to be successful.
These rules are grounded in the research and observation of 1,300 businesses across more than three decades. They arose from taking note of what worked and didn’t work for these companies. (To learn more about the origins of the rules, visit www.rewildgroup.com .)?
The Non-Negotiable Rules cover six foundational areas of a business:
The rules are spread across these six areas because a business needs to be growing proportionally across them. Often, a business will focus more energy on some of these areas, causing an unbalanced ecosystem. Eventually, the rules ignored create pockets of weakness that can cause the business to lose momentum, stagnate or even retreat.
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There are different Non-Negotiable Rules that apply to a business at various stages of its lifecycle as it grows. This means there is a set of rules that apply when the business is in its start-up phase, then there is another set of rules that apply as it moves from an owner-centric business to a more enterprise-centric one, and so on.
Non-Negotiable Rules have a cumulative effect, which means that your organization needs to pay attention not only to rules for your current stage, but also to rules from previous stages. In a sense, Non-Negotiable Rules serve as graduation requirements to successfully move from one stage to the next. To sustain growth, an organization needs to be at least 80% complete with the rules that are relevant to the current stage.
Now, this doesn’t mean that it is impossible for an organization to grow past a stage if the necessary rules haven’t been completed. Rather, if you don’t complete rules before moving on to the next stage, they stick around to haunt you. They weigh on the organization, creating a stronger and stronger headwind for the company. After all, they are “non-negotiable.”
It's quite simple: adhere to the rules or pay the price in the form of low productivity, poor financial performance, and the possible demise of the organization. The Non-Negotiable Rules are like gravity—they exist whether or not you acknowledge them. Failure to address these rules will negatively impact your business.
Being aware of the rules and taking action to address them is necessary to sustain growth. For many organizations that stall or retreat from their heights of success, the loss of forward momentum can be traced directly to the failure to take care of these graduation requirements.
So how can you find out what those rules are? Start with the Stage Calculator , which is a quick, interactive form that will tell you the Stage your business is in. From there, you’ll have access to a wealth of resources to help guide you in your leadership position—including the Non-negotiable Rules that are ideal for your organization right now.
Business owners work with me to confidently identify and change the missing element that makes profitable growth achievable with minimal investment or time.
2 年Madelyn Dunlap, it seems counterintuitive that the non-negotiable rules are indifferent to location or industry. I am aware the non-negotiable rules you reference are based upon decades of research and over 1,300 companies from a wide range of industries, locations, technologies and cultures. I believe the astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “tell someone there are a billion stars in the sky and they will believe you - but tell someone the park bench has wet paint on it and they feel they must touch it, to be sure”. My “wet paint” story involves my own experiences coaching and consulting business owners. Having engaged with literally hundreds of business owners in a multiple of industries, company sizes and regions (north to south and east to west), I can attest the non-negotiable rules do apply to all. It may be counterintuitive, but it is also true. For the attentive reader, you have revealed a potentially life changing insight.
Business Growth Consultant | M+A Advisor | Strategic Planner | Trainer | Implementer |
2 年Nice article Madelyn! I read a Marketing book years ago that had rules and the subhead was "Violate Them At Your Own Risk." That book helped me focus on the fundamentals of the topic taught. I look forward to understanding these rules better. Appreciate it.
Helping business owners transform their businesses to become highly functioning and highly profitable, an exceptional business.
2 年Thank you for writing an excellent article, Madelyn. These rules determine whether a business grows or not.
CEO/Managing Partner | Leadership & Organizational Development | Executive Coaching | Small to Medium Size Businesses
2 年Madelyn, I am intrigued by the idea of the non-negotiable rules idea. You mentioned that they are different for each stage, what happens if you miss some and still grow to larger stages?
Overcoming growing pains and scaling an existing small business beyond its own limits takes more than pure grit. I help entrepreneurs step into the CEO role with confidence, commitment, and the right support systems.
2 年Great explanation of the fundamental keys to successful and sustainable business growth! Thanks for sharing, Madelyn!