In 2019 it was reported that SMMEs made up 98.5% of formal firms in the country but in contrast a relatively smaller figure of 1000 employers employ just over 50% of the working population. Essentially while there are thousands of small businesses, there are few that have hit the critical mass point that can only be achieved through scaling up. Which is where Verne Harnish, Scale Up expert, bestselling author and renowned speaker comes in. He is globally sought after for his knowledge and capabilities with the ability to super charge businesses and take them to the next level. His principles have catalysed massive growth for companies and have been applied by some of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs.
Used by some of South Africa’s most innovative and profitable businesses including GetSmarter which was sold for over $100 million in 2008, the central principle of scaling up is to look at four main areas; people, strategy, execution and cash. GetSmarter co-founder then reapplied these principles in his next business, Valenture Institute which is successfully transforming online education in the secondary education sector.
“We are thrilled to have Verne Harnish sharing his incredible expertise, especially in such tumultuous times where entrepreneurs and executives alike are under pressure to plan for an uncertain future, while also generating large growth. Having applied the principles within our company, we are testament to the efficacy of Verne’s methodologies,” explains Ralf Fletcher, CEO of Topco Media, the organizers of the Future of HR Awards.
The pandemic presents a unique challenge and opportunity to lean into the scaling possibilities. While scaling is an attractive notion Harnish explains the checkpoints that you should have internally before figuring out if you want to, and need to scale.The three factors to think about are; look at your market – if you feel like you’re endlessly trying to keep up with the work then it is probably time to scale up, secondly there needs to be mental preparation to scale and lastly if you feel like you need to scale but you aren’t then you need to deeply examine the four core areas of your business – people, strategy, execution and cash.
In this current economic climate it may seem counterintuitive to be thinking about growth but the reality is that for companies that have managed to successfully pivot through this tough period – there is tremendous opportunity for growth. With Harnish’s principles having been applied by thousands of businesses across the globe his principles are simple and implementable. “We’ve come to the end of an incredibly challenging year, and it can seem impossible to be thinking about the future and growth but we believe this is critical timing for businesses, which is why we invited the foremost expert on scaling to provide guidance for all of our attendees,” says Fletcher. At this year’s Future of HR awards Harnish will delve into the key principles that everyone can apply to scale up, particularly in the context of the pandemic.
An event not to be missed, if you would like to attend please contact Judy on 064 006 0621
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)