Doing more with what you have

Catalytic value creation is often not necessary

Perhaps, like many, you first think of a catalysing event to grow your business. For example, the introduction of a radical change in your business model or the acquisition of another company with the desired skills, technology or knowledge that takes your company to the next level in one step. But such catalytic value creation is often impossible for companies with limited resources. And besides, often not even necessary. Especially if there are still significant unlocked value opportunities lurking in those companies.

Doing more with what you already have may seem like the less flashy option, but it's a potentially rich source of growth and value for your business. If your company manages to maximise every resource it has, it can be more efficient, productive, critical and resilient. Perform regular checks to find out if your company is already delivering maximum value: are you doing everything you should be doing? Are you as commercially effective as you could be? Is your pricing strategy right?

Unlock opportunities

In highly complex companies you rarely see true optimisation, where they take full advantage of every opportunity. When trying to increase cross-selling and/or increase the share of existing customers, the outside world can often get in the way, but not all obstacles are insurmountable. Suppose you take over companies all over the world. This gives you access to a huge customer base and a range of possibilities. The potential for cross-selling and winning new business based on the combined capabilities is huge, but the collective strength of your company is significantly less than the sum of its parts.

The challenge is often part cultural, part practical. If you take over companies, realise that these companies often have their own culture and are very different. So how do you create a (close) real collaborative relationship? Full integration is not necessary, but knowing each other and talking to each other is a basic requirement. Everyone should be familiar with each other's capabilities and existing and target customers and realise that none of them operate in a vacuum. So make sure you have a good communication infrastructure that allows your employees to talk and collaborate, and share thought leadership.

Get the most out of your employees 

How do you get more out of your employees? Do you give sufficient recognition for what your employees do and how they do it, with incentives to perform differently? One of the main drivers of cost reduction or increased profitability is removing duplication of effort by reviewing your existing business model and processes. With remote working now a reality in many industries since the pandemic, it has never been more important to fully assess what your employees are doing, where they overlap and if this is a priority.

The pandemic also gave you the opportunity to reframe your organisation's purpose, vision and values. There is a wealth of data that reinforces the benefits of a clear corporate purpose on shareholder value. Giving your employees a clear, authentic purpose can yield benefits in the form of increased involvement and discretionary effort, longer tenure, the attraction of key talent, and continued energy and motivation to be productive.

Embrace occasional productivity boosters

The corona pandemic forced companies and employees to innovate and change the way they work. Although experiences vary, we also see processes and techniques that reduce costs and increase productivity. It's important that you keep building on things that have worked.

A new agenda for trade

There was a time when international markets were a logical step in the quest for growth. But trade wars and opposition to globalisation led by populist politics have changed the landscape. With trading patterns and partnerships in constant flux, it is more difficult to pinpoint the best destinations for growth. In addition, the pandemic has caused companies to think hard about supply chain resilience and explore localisation as Plan B.

While we generally expect leaders to take a more selective and careful approach to entering new markets in the future, that doesn't mean geographic reach is no longer an important option for value creation. Regardless of the route you choose to create value, a focus on value creates a more resilient business that can respond quickly to external shocks and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.