Spring into action: Be a resource to help your company grow

With spring just around the corner, it’s a good time to check in on the status of the goals you set for your company at the beginning of the year.
It’s great that you got everyone in a room to brainstorm ideas about how to get more customers, sell more products and build your brand — innovation is the lifeblood of any business. The tricky part is taking all that inspiration and creativity and seeing it through to implementation.
As the leader, it’s important that you keep the conversation going and build on the momentum that was created when the goals were developed.
What better time than spring to renew your spirit and your effort to meet those ambitious goals that you set at the beginning of the year? The sun is shining a little longer each day, so take advantage of the boost that comes with the change in seasons and figure out where you might be falling short on your goals.
Companies that struggle to grow often do so because they lose sight of the importance of innovation. You need to innovate to grow and you need to empower your employees to use their skills and creativity to come up with great ideas that can help you stand out from your competition.
Talk to your team about what you as the leader can do to make it easier for them to implement those difference-making ideas.
That’s what CEO Chip Bergh did at Levi Strauss & Co. The iconic business wasn’t growing like it should have been when Bergh started in 2011.
He quickly discovered that the company wasn’t doing much to allow customers to shop with Levi’s via their mobile devices. Bergh saw potential customers walk into Levi’s stores — iPhone in hand — and proceed to comparison price shop. Only they couldn’t buy online from Levi’s.
The company had grown used to a culture where everyone thought that brand recognition of the Levi’s name would be enough to resonate with customers. Bergh knew that had to change.
He showed his employees numbers that proved brand alone wasn’t enough, and he set out to pursue more ambitious goals.
In just two years, the company’s e-commerce business went from zero to almost 50 percent of sales.

Goals and benchmarks are critical components to a company’s ability to grow, but you need to recognize when it’s time to retool and give your employees the help they need to reach them.

Fred Koury is president and CEO of Smart Business Network Inc., the publisher of Smart Business Magazine and operates Convero Inc., a content marketing firm.