How to Build a 7-Star Business that will Navigate the Uncertain New Year

Congratulations, you managed to make it out of the woods in 2022, but you’re still in the jungle. Your business is still under the threat of erratic foreign exchange, inflation scare and ‘Japa’ effect on your reliable staff. While you heave a sigh of relief that it’s a new year, you’re reminded that it’s election season. On the flip side, there are opportunities and possibilities. It’s simply a matter of perspective. With the right information and attitude, this new year can be the game changer for you and your business.

What if that anxiety can be channeled into fuel, to guide you through the whole labyrinth? You can actually put a few tweaks in your methods that will generate you insane results. I have shared some insights with my clients and the results are amazing. I call it, The 7-Star Business. I’ve also decided to give these insights for free. Do yourself a favour, read every word till the very end and don’t take this article for granted. To fully apply these seven keys, first you need to be a bit vulnerable. Warning: A slew of questions may attack your ego. Understand that it’s not personal, and take a honest audit of your business. Assess it exactly as it is, not worse than it is. Take stock of what you have left, not what you’ve lost. Strengths, not weaknesses. Gains, not pains.?

Warning: A slew of questions may attack your ego. Understand that it’s not personal, and take a honest audit of your business.

A number of ideas may appear simple, or familiar. Do not make the mistake of taking them for granted. Some people know what to do, but many people don’t do what they know. If you come across something familiar in this article, simply take note of it as a reminder of what you should work on, not what to ignore.

One-Star: Competence

This is the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of your business process. The entry level, basic key everyone should operate with, to get a foot in the door of the business. No disrespect, but how competent are you about your business? Are you the best in your industry? How about your team, can you vouch for their competence levels in the business? Do you understand the levels of competence that your business operates in? There is a spectrum of competence levels, that includes unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence. Where exactly do you think you and your team are playing, right now? Whatever competence level that brought you out of 2022 will definitely not see you through 2023.?

Are you billing for man-hours, or for results? Are your staffers paid for showing up, or for solving problems? How well does your team use their gumption? Do they come to you with questions to answer, or do they present their initiatives? How resourceful are you as a business? Can you take a Swiss knife into the jungle and come out with a shopping mall? Or, is your team waiting for company internet before they can send an email? What is your tolerance level for excuses? It’s interesting when people try to give or accept the best explanation for poor outcomes. Does your business run a culture of reasons, or a culture of results??

How resourceful are you as a business? Can you take a Swiss knife into the jungle and come out with a shopping mall?

All these are simply level-one in the scheme of things. Tidy up this level, and you can confidently say you are a One-Star Business. If you think you need help at any point, trust me, you’re not alone. You can reach out and let’s discuss. I can work with your team to fully optimize its competence level. Competence is about what you know, but that is simply not enough. In uncertain times, it is not just what you know, but who you know, that matters. That leads us to the next Star.

Two-Star: Character

Emotional Quotient is the next level in your business. EQ has been a buzzword in recent times, but how much of it is actually practiced? Some business leaders think this is the HR Manager’s job. Emotional Intelligence is simply everybody’s job, both within the team, and with stakeholders. Customers do business with people they know, like and trust.

A certain Mr. Alex was offered a contract by a Mr. Bobby, for N30 million, to execute the exact proposal that Mr. Alex had earlier submitted to a Company for N50 million (actual identities withheld). Apparently, the Company was more comfortable with giving the business at N70 million to Mr. Bobby, who probably had less competence, but more EQ, to secure the company’s trust.

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. How much do you know yourself, strengths and weaknesses? Are you confident or arrogant? Who do men say you are, in your presence, and more importantly, in your absence? Do people do stuff for you, because they want to, or because they have to? There’s no problem with having flaws. We are all work in progress. The question is, what are you doing to improve yourself on a daily basis?

Who do men say you are, in your presence, and more importantly, in your absence? Do people do stuff for you, because they want to, or because they have to?

Let’s talk about the people you do business with. How well do you know them? How much have you invested in studying them and understanding their strengths and weaknesses? Phil Knight, the brain behind the Nike brand, wrote in his book, Shoe Dog, that he took time out to learn how to do business with the Japanese at the earlier stage of his business. Understanding one another’s personalities is the tough part. The easy part is knowing how to manage the people you deal with. You can invest in understanding personality types and knowing more about why people act the way they do. There are lots of tools out there, from Temperaments, to Archetypes to DISC etc. This understanding will reduce your frustrations a great deal, and put you in full control of predicting the outcomes, when you deal with people. Then, you can be a Two-Star Business

Three-Star: Capacity

You can measure your Adaptability Quotient (AQ) level, if you have fulfilled both Competence and Character levels. This is more about what is working ‘on’ you, than what is working ‘for’ you. How much battle scars have you suffered in your business? Have you been tossed to the end of the ocean, and somehow, made it back to shore? Have you failed big time in your business before, and bounced back? Have you lost money to the extent that you almost lost your mind? Have you had legal battles in business, that stripped you of almost everything you had, including your dignity? Have you been betrayed by people you seemed to trust?

Business is war without bullets. If it doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger. Every great business has a story to tell. You can’t maximize the potentials of your business, if you keep playing it safe. If you are yet to have any scar, I’ve got news for you - brace up, winter is coming. If you have had your fair taste of ‘blood’, well, I say congratulations. Not because you had an unsavory experience, but because you’re still standing. This is where your AQ kicks in. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it.

You must scale one hurdle before you encounter the next. Small head, small headache, big head, big headache. If you are scared of failing, sorry you’re in the wrong game. Business is not for the lily-livered. It is about failing and learning. That’s why I coined the term BLESSONS = Blessings + Lessons. A Real Estate Developer, for instance, needs to first master how to deliver the first housing unit credibly, then the next 10 units, then 100 units, then move on to thousands of units. You don’t bite more than you can chew.

If you are scared of failing, sorry you’re in the wrong game. Business is not for the lily-livered. It is about failing and learning.

Zig Ziglar quotes, “Set a Goal SO BIG that we cannot achieve it, until we grow into the person who can”. This simply means that, capacity is built from within, not without. You need to BE, before you HAVE, not the other way around. People who validate themselves with material trappings, often fall victim of insecurity and depression, when things go wrong. Mentally rehearse possible scenarios that can go wrong, and ask yourself, what would you do in such unfortunate events. That’s how to prepare for the storm. That’s how you consider your business worthy of Three-Stars.

Four-Star: Chemistry

I call this the X-Quotient (XQ), that x-factor, that makes most valuable global brands, irresistible and irreplaceable. Employees can’t explain why, but they just can’t think of working anywhere else. Customers can’t place a finger on it, but they just can’t do without it. The best way I describe it, is Brand Love. Whether you’re a personal, product or a corporate brand, you can exhibit a level of brand love that sets you apart.?

It starts with your BIG WHY. According to Simon Sinek, people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it, and what you do simply proves what you believe. Is there any alignment between your objectives and your team’s objectives? Is there any alignment between your objectives and your customer’s objectives? Chemistry, is connecting with your audience on a much deeper level. One of the key ingredients of this concept is trust. You cannot buy it. You simply have it, or you don’t. Your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what others say it is (Marty Neumeier). How would you rate the trust that your audience have in your brand? How much trust do you have in your team?

Confidence is also a key ingredient in brand love. It embodies consistency, continuity, certainty, zero-compromise, reliability, and delivery. It shows in your track records, and your audience never forgets. During the pandemic, most of the brands that thrived, were brands that their audience had a great deal of confidence in. Take a look around your desk, your closet, and your kitchen. You too, are surrounded by brands, you have a great deal of confidence in.

One more key ingredient is communication. Do you carry your team along when key business decisions are being made, or do you allow them to speculate and figure it out by themselves? How often do you communicate with your clients, markets and entire stakeholders? Are you proactive in your approach, or do you wait until there is a complaint before you react? Keeping in touch is one thing, the manner of approach is another. According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, 55% of your communication elements lie in your body language, your words are just 7%, while your tone is 38%. So, are you worthy of Four-Stars?

During the pandemic, most of the brands that thrived, were brands that their audience had a great deal of confidence in. Take a look around your desk, your closet, and your kitchen. You too, are surrounded by brands, you have a great deal of confidence in.

Five-Star: Systems

Here’s another buzzword that is yet to be fully optimized in our businesses. To understand systems, let’s look at the human body, a complex design marvel. It runs automatically, on more than 14 inter-dependent and perfectly organized systems. One system is responsible for managing the food we eat. Another, for managing the air we breathe. Another, manages our fight against infections, and so much more. In each system, there are a vast number of activities that go on, non-stop. Many of these activities, we are not even aware of, except when something goes wrong.?

One thing we can learn from these activities, is the predictable set of patterns they follow. Do the activities in your business systems, follow a predictable set of patterns (Standard Operating Procedures - S.O.Ps)? Do your teams know ‘why’ they do what is expected of them, or are they just the ‘yes boss’ type? Do their activities function without your awareness, except when something goes wrong? Many businesses claim to have systems, but their CEOs are apparently Chief ‘Everything’ Officers.?

What does the organogram of your business look like? Does each organ (staff) know his/her line-in-command / ranking officer? Or do they bring every issue to your desk? More importantly, if you have a matter you want to address concerning a staff member, do you by-pass his/her superiors to communicate with the staff directly, or do you pass the information to the superiors, who then communicate the same to the affected staff? Information flow is very important in the effective implementation of systems in the business.

Many businesses claim to have systems, but their CEOs are apparently Chief ‘Everything’ Officers.?

Culture is also a very important tool that helps to guide how the systems in our businesses run. Are you and your team, crystal clear on the kind of culture that governs your systems? Do you, personally submit to the culture that your business runs on? Or are you above the culture in your business? Do you have plans in place, to detect and deal with counter-cultures in your business? How well do your customers and stakeholders perceive and understand the culture that governs your business? Being a Five-Star Business is not for everybody. You need to go above and beyond, to stay in the game.

Six-Star: Strategy

This is where future-forward business leaders play. At this level, 90% of your work time is spent on winning strategy and visionary leadership for your business. This is because you have created systems in place, to ensure all other details are taken care of. Let me also note, that you should have systems managers, to enforce smooth running of productive activities, and deliver on set expectations. Your penthouse office is not just for a fancy view of the city. It is for distraction-free thinking, inspiration-channeling and idea-implementing. At this point, your focus is on critical data and stats that will move the needle for your business.

How are you making more profits? How are you saving more money? How are you increasing marketshare? What are your plans for acquisition of new businesses? What are your plans for retention of existing businesses? What are your plans for generating more value for and from existing businesses? How are you building an irresistible and irreplaceable brand? How is your business model faring? Who should you collaborate with? What should you divest from? What business should you invest in or acquire? How is your brand health? Is your business due for a rebranding? Above all, how is any of these questions feeding into your big why?

Your penthouse office is not just for a fancy view of the city. It is for distraction-free thinking, inspiration-channeling and idea-implementing.

These questions above are pointers into your strategy sessions. Who are the key participants in the situation room with you, when you strategize? What is the quality of their contributions? Who plays the devil’s advocate / objective third eye in your decisions? Who are your external consultants and coaches? Your strategy is not just about your plan of activities, but your intention to win! This is very important, so every decision and action needs to be appraised, for the results they generate. No strategy is sacrosanct. If the desired result is not achieved at the end of the set time, investigate the strategy and make necessary tweaks, until the desired results are achieved. The objective cannot be overemphasized. That’s the reason I call it the BIG WHY. What is your vision, mission and values? How are these strategic decisions and actions fulfilling your vision, mission and values? Not every good strategy is the right strategy for your big why. From time to time, always recalibrate, to be sure you’re on track towards hitting the mark. When your strategy is water-tight, then you can confidently say that you are a Six-Star Business.

Seven-Star: Stamina

Finally, at the top of your business is not money. It’s not even fame. It’s power! Power gives you access. Power gives you control. Power gives you answers. It takes a great deal of Stamina to get to the level where power is the currency of trade. There are many things your business cannot achieve, until you have satisfactory levels of Competence (IQ), Character (EQ), Capacity (AQ), and Chemistry (XQ). There are some hurdles that your business cannot scale, until you have built effective and efficient Systems to run it. Also, there are ceilings that your business cannot break through, until you have the Strategy that works, every time.

Power is not an abstract. It is the quantity and more importantly, quality of people you have access and connection to, when it really matters. You cannot face the storm by yourself, you’ll crash and burn. You need a loyal workforce that believes strongly in you. You need confidants as armor bearers, who will defend you, night and day. You need lieutenants who share your vision, and are ready to move at your command. You need a strong and resourceful value chain, who can make deals happen, without a down payment. You need a consortium of quality bankers, who can facilitate major projects, without breaking a sweat. You need an ironclad legal team, who will indemnify you with the right policy framework, and keep you from trouble. You need a solid media and PR team, to keep your business amiable in the court of public opinion.

Power is not an abstract. It is the quantity and more importantly, quality of people you have access and connection to, when it really matters.

That’s not all. How powerful is your Board of Directors? Which of them is your bridge with government and policy makers at high levels? Which of them is your key connect to your industry regulators? Which of them takes care of business with traditional monarchs in the jurisdictions where your business is domiciled, etc? Perhaps you may have to fire some board members in the new year, or hire some board members in the new year. Engaging all these connects is your firm grip on power. Quality relationships is super important. Mind their business, so they can mind your business.?

Conclusion

How would you rate your business now? As you leave this article, what are the top 5 things that you will do within the next two weeks? Remember, some people know what to do, but many people don’t do what they know. You need to commit to an accountability system that will hold you to your next steps, before they fizzle out. Information is free, but real transformation isn’t. As you invest in your business, don’t focus on how much it costs, focus on how much it pays. These 7 keys can be further broken down, depending on your specific business. Feel free to reach out, let’s discuss which of the points you may be having challenges with, and how we can fix them.

Send me a DM now. Cheers to your Seven-Star Business.