Most small business owners become so wrapped up in the day to day managing and running of their operations, that their operations begin to run them. A small business owner’s first responsibility should always be effective leadership in an effort to create a satisfied customer. You do not captain a ship by selecting a destination, pointing the ship in that direction and assuming you will arrive. Even with tools such as GPS and radar, effective navigation requires that you check your charts, plot the best course, identify and avoid hazards, make course corrections due to drift and always keep an eye on the seas and weather ahead. It is no different than owning a small business.
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
-Peter Drucker
Performing A Regular Business MRI Scan
If you have an existing small business you should always be viewing and evaluating your customers, products and services as well as demand and growth, by putting your business through a Small Business MRI “Market Reality Inspection” Scan. A regular scan will help preserve the health and fitness of your company and identify weakness or ill health that may be lurking in your company’s future. To perform a Small Business MRI Scan requires three passes through the MRI and each pass requires you to ask and answer a single question:
- Scan 1: The Traditional MRI – What is my business?
- Scan 2: The Transitional MRI – What will my business be in the future?
- Scan 3: The Transformational MRI – What should my business be in the future?
You should take the time to sit down at your computer or with a pen and paper at least once every year (every six months if you are in an evolving market) and run your business through the MRI scan. Only after you complete your current MRI scan should you then pull out your past results for comparison.
MRI Scan 1: What Is My Business?
The traditional MRI is your current vision and mission for your company. It gives you a strong baseline for your organization, your customer, your products and services as well as current demand and growth.
Scan yourself with these questions:
- Who are my customers?
- What are my products and services?
- What need, pain, void or opportunity do I fill for my customers?
- What is the current demand for your products or services and the need that they satisfy?
MRI Scan 2: What Will My Business Be In The Future?
The transitional MRI looks into your future to identify how your business will need to evolve to remain competitive and successful. This is where it is important to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of your customer and not be locked into tunnel vision based on what your business has been in the past. Understanding if and how your customer’s needs are changing, the demographics of those customers and the demand for what you offer, enables you to consider and plan for course corrections that you may need to make in the future as your business evolves with the market and our world.
Technology is a perfect example of how something can have a tremendous impact on your business. Technology can impact customer needs, who your customers are and how they will shop and purchase, not to mention the demand for your products and services which may be on the cutting edge or completely obsolete if you do not scan.
Scan yourself with these questions:
- Who will my customers be in the future?
- What will my products and services be in the future?
- What need, pain, void or opportunity can I fill for my customers in the future?
- What will the demand be for my products or services and the need or pain they satisfy?
MRI Scan 3: What Should My Business Be In The Future?
The transformational MRI is you as the entrepreneur and visionary. These can be hard questions to ask yourself if you are stuck on the widget you are currently producing. Considering what should your business be, looks beyond today or even tomorrow and considers how you you see your company transforming itself to where it will need to be in the future to meet the needs of the customer. Economics, technology, demographics, world events and your vision for where you want to be, all have an impact on this scan.
Scan yourself with these questions:
- Who should my customers be in the future?
- What products and services should I offer in the future?
- What need, pain, void or opportunity should I meet for my customers in the future?
- What should be the demand be for my products or services and the need or pain they satisfy?
Don’t Forget A Regular Check Up! – Taking Effective Action
Performing a Small Business MRI Scan once and never again is like going to the doctor and getting an x-ray for a possible broken foot and then leaving before the doctor tells you the results. You keep limping around months later wishing you had followed through.
Your business is a work in process and your ability to maintain the entrepreneurial vision for the short, medium and long term is vital to your growth and success.
So here is what I would like you to do in order to “take effective action”.
- Pick 3 different times over the next few weeks to perform each one of the MRI Scans separately.
- Make sure you give proper consideration to the questions and write down your answers, put it in a file and make sure you date it.
- Consider follow up questions and areas that you need to evaluate or investigate based on the scan.
- Pick a date for a follow up scan and put it on your calendar no later than 12 months away. Set the appointment!
- Pull out your scan report every few months and compare how your company currently is with your last scan. Big changes mean it is time for a new scan.
Visit the Bssential Solutions website and sign up for my free Bssentials Small Business eLetter as I will be including additional information and forms on performing a Small Business MRI Scan in the near future.
As always I encourage you to post or email me your thoughts and feedback.
To learn more about how I can help you grow your small business visit Bssential Small Business Coaching Solutions.
Bill Sifflard - With over thirty years experience as an entrepreneur, an executive, an author and as a business consultant, Bill Sifflard has a long history of experience bringing innovation, efficiency and success to large and small businesses adapting to evolving markets.
As a premiere Sales and Marketing Innovator, Bill is changing how business integrates traditional marketing strategy with the power and potential of the internet utilizing his "Velocity for Success" matrix.
To learn more about Bill and Bssential Small Business Solutions you can visit http://www.bssentials.com and register for his Free eNewsletter or follow all of his blog posts by clicking on the RSS feed button above. 
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