All businesses exist somewhere on The Success Cycle. Their position will change from time to time and it is vital to understand those changes. What applies to the business as a whole also applies to the subcomponents of that business. It is likely that one part of a business will be in one stage of The Success Cycle whilst another is at a totally different stage. The critical part is, without emotion and total objectivity, to identify which part of the cycle is relevant to each component or subcomponent.

Success

Success is the ideal state that all businesses, organizations and teams strive to achieve. It is generally characterized with a very upbeat attitude. The world seems to be at your fingertips and almost nothing that happens seems to go wrong. This ideal state is almost always the result of good solid hard work. Businesses are generally hiring new staff, improving the tools available and generally growing.

Comfort

After the initial flush of success, organizations and themes tend to drift towards the Comfort zone. The world seems good and there is no longer any need to try too hard. In essence we are coasting. All of the rewards are coming to us and once again all seems well with the world. However, during the Comfort stage focus tends to drift onto other matters and this ultimately inevitably leads us to Decay.

Decay

This stage crept upon you whilst you weren’t looking, and slowly the Comfort zone becomes a problem. This is often characterized by political infighting within the organization or team, other non-core items gain priority and what was once a successful operation now begins to struggle. The route to Decay covers many paths, but by this point almost everyone can see that there is a problem. This is when, if not recognized soon enough, that actual failure happens. Products fail, businesses collapse and what was very successful is now teetering on the edge of the abyss.

Analysis

If and only if, sufficient insight is gained during the Decay stage can corrective action be taken. This must take the form of a detailed and unbiased Analysis. Under no circumstances can an inaccurate picture be painted of the current situation. During the Analysis stage we would expect a complete range of options to be studied. After some detailed scrutiny, the most suitable option should be chosen. This stage will also contain any planning and preparation for the Action stage to follow.

Action

During the Action stage, it is typical for the hard work that originally led to the Success stage be put into place. By following the plan which was created during the Analysis stage, it is possible to correct the problems and transform the situation. Generally the Action stage requires significant political support at all levels of the organization. It is, however, highly likely that the Action stage will prove to be successful and that the original cause for the Decay will be remedied. Upon successful completion of the Action stage, we move into the Success stage and the process repeats itself.

Notes

It is important to understand that the duration of any one of these stages can vary, from weeks to months to years. There is nothing which dictates how long a stage lasts or what triggers the move from one stage to another.

Generally the triggers to move from one stage to another are subtle and seem to “just happen”, whilst nobody is looking. This is an often all too frequent characteristic of businesses. Things happen whether we’re looking at them or not. There is only so much time that management can spend on any one particular endeavour and the need to manage many others means that some are going to be prioritized much lower or higher than others. This will happen continually.

The most critical point, is to be aware that The Success Cycle exists, with that information, it is possible to monitor a business; product; marketing campaign; project or any other business activity and identify where that activity sits within The Success Cycle. Only then, once a change has been noted, can something be done to manage the situation.

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Help

From time to time everyone needs a little extra help, if your business needs to jump round The Success Cycle stages, then DVANA is able to help you. Our expertise covers all aspects of business. We can give you that insight and that competitive edge. Contact us today.