What do thriving businesses that achieve sustained growth and extraordinary results do differently from those that don’t?

As an accountant, business coach, and consultant, I speak to hundreds of business owners each year, some of them weekly. I talk, listen, observe, discuss, and debate on various topics, and I often validate theories in practice while picking strategies and tactics that work for myself and my clients.

My point is to show you where I am coming from when I think about and discuss success in business. So, what I’ve learned so far is that there are no silver bullets or out-of-the-box systems that will guarantee spectacular, sometimes obsessively desired, overnight growth. It doesn’t exist. Period.

However, what I found to be common among the businesses that grow faster and more predictably are several specific areas where superior companies concentrate their efforts and resources.

1. Powerful vision and a clear sense of purpose

Most owners and directors of companies that have produced better results discover that it takes more than the promise of increasing financial reward to fuel their aspirations and ambitions.

They aren’t doing it for the sake of money alone. They find a higher calling than the pursuit of more money. Look, there is nothing wrong in wanting more money, but in their cases, more money is not the primary reason for doing business. So, the number one vision that drives it is: then, clear objectives and purposes are followed by clear goals, strategies, and tactics.

2. Outstanding business intelligence.

This is a company’s ability to first recognise its core success ingredients. To put it simply, successful companies know the most important numbers and critical issues that really drive their businesses. Going further, they know, without us telling them, what the numbers are telling them.

Variances are everywhere. Things never go according to plan. It is their flexibility that allows them to adapt to fundamental changes in the marketplace. Many times, small-business owners become too myopic, seeing only a limited view of the markets in which they compete. Successful leaders see into the future by measuring the present and analysing their pasts.

3. Growth planning isn’t optional.

There is a big difference between plans and planning, and growth businesses know it. They plan in advance, and their plans are updated daily. Planning is systematic and a never-ending work in progress. It is a different mindset and, therefore, a different approach.

To some of you, this may sound redundant, but my boss has his black planning book that he updates daily. So many times, it was beneficial to have that one piece of paper reminding us about what is really important and what we are all about.

Formats will vary. I am not saying go with this one over another, but it is not about the format in which we are talking here. It’s rather about the process of getting planning done on paper and regularly. Nothing complicated, nothing high-end, just simple things that make our life easier and directions clearer.

4. Client-focused.

There is a big difference between the client and the customer, and following that difference, a relationship stems from it. These days, every company I talk to believes it is client-driven or customer-oriented when actually very few really are. Websites, promo materials, fliers, and ads all talk about customer service, helping hands, and lots of other hype words.

Take a look at all of your business processes from a customer’s perspective. Are they in place to make it easier for the company or to help deliver on the promise of faster, cheaper, and better for the customer? If clients or customers are your focus, what should be eliminated, simplified, or improved to create better and smarter experiences?

Growth companies know who their customers/clients are. Do you know yours?

5. The power of innovation and technology

Growth companies are process-improvement-obsessed. Innovation brings market leadership. It is always harder to defend territory than to win it in the first place. They defend market share by repositioning, innovation, and never-ending quality improvements.

6. The best and brightest people

It goes without saying that who you bring on board will determine what you get in return. Growth companies recognise that they are only as good as the people with whom they work. The ability to hire, train, and retain the best and brightest people is often the difference between success and failure.

7. Seeing and communicating the future

Few organisations take the time to consider the future regularly. Growth companies learn how to diligently monitor and interpret the outside forces of change affecting the environment in which they operate. Legislative changes, political forces, and market trends are just some of them. Being prepared means communicating and addressing what goals, strategies and objectives the company must pursue to remain relevant and competitive.