Small Business Leader Versus Aussie Cricket Capt'n - Any Similarities?

INTRODUCTION:

Some of you may be aware of the dramas Australian cricket has had recently with consecutive losses in Sri Lanka, South Africa and then again in Australia. Things certainly don't always go to plan or smoothly just like in small business so in order to get you out of the doldrums it's very much up to the owners to show leadership.

What sort of things does a small business owner do then when showing Steve Smith like attributes? 

Figure 1: Early  bird catches the worm - Steve Smith has had to step up recently to get his side out of the doldrums.

1. Have a Plan - Bat First Or Chase?

Whilst it's never too late to have a strategic plan, once you turn up you will have to decide how it is you will achieve your end goal.

In cricket the objective is usually to win the game. If you were to sit down and explain to your small business accountants or team or loved ones, just exactly what does winning look like to you in business? What will it look like in terms of:

• revenue;
• profits;
• employee numbers;
• locations;
• market share.

Figure 2: What exactly is required with your run chase? Small business accountants Sydney & Dubbo

2. What's The Run Rate Required (& Other KPIs)?

Similar to cricket when chasing your goal what is the run rate required per over? If you have set your goals over 3 to 5 to 10 years, what needs to get done along the way? Leaving things until the very end might just see you chasing 10 runs an over which might be too much and increase the chances of falling short.

You need to keep an eye on any plan's progress and this is something you can do with your small business accountant via:

• budget v actual;
• debtor days;
• supplier days;
• inventory days;
• cash flow (through three way budgets);
• quarterly/monthly meetings;
• cloud accounting.

3. Act Decisively

Leaders act! If you aren't prepared to make informed decisions decisively and quickly your business will flounder and your employees, customers and suppliers will ultimately leave due to frustration.

Get feedback from all of these channels and then prioritise and have a plan to fix these one by one until they are done.

4. Appreciate Your Team mates

Yes it was always better when you and I were younger right? Well even if that were true and you got the best 100 in the backyard at mum's on a 'bunsen' (burner/turner) just remember that if you want to win the game you won't be able to do it alone. When was the last time you showed some real appreciation for your team?

Figure 3: as a leader you need to know how to get over business's hurdles.

5. Respect Your Opposition - Howzat?

Let's face it, if you want to win the game, you will need to show respect to your competition. Find out what they do well and where you can give yourself a competitive advantage. By doing this you should also be able to avoid a price war particularly if you can educate your target market.

Bagging your competition won't win you too many friends and may even fire them up!

CONCLUSION:

 If you've ever played cricket or any other sport for that matter, running a business can be like running a team.

If you feel you can't be the captain then maybe you need to either get out or appoint somebody who can or it could all end up in tears.