One of the essential skills for running a successful business, says Choice CEO Stephen Moore, is to avoid getting “caught up in the noise”.
One of the essential skills for running a successful business, says Choice CEO Stephen Moore, is to avoid getting “caught up in the noise”.
Many business owners let themselves get tangled up in the day-to-day demands of running a brokerage, says Moore, and struggle to hone in on their most important indicators and long-term trends.
“It’s important to be able to step back and look on your business, rather than get caught in the business, doing the activity, if you like.”
Brokers are generally good at creating a solid business plan, says Moore, but then consistently fail to follow that up.
“Typically what we see is there’s a lot of time spent on a business plan upfront, but then it goes straight to the bottom drawer, and maybe it’s dusted off next year – maybe it’s not. But there’s real business benefit in having a more disciplined approach.”
Being emphatically clear on what your key indicators of success are, and then tracking them regularly, is essential to cleaning up the clutter and keeping your brokerage on course, says Moore.
“It may be around getting volume to a certain level, or achieving a certain milestone before you look to take on a new staff member. It may be the level of productivity per staff member or loan writer. It really depends on the individual business.
“My message is: be clear about what those key success indicators are - and less is more. The challenge is to make sure you’re focused on the things that really count in your business.”
The need to apply active business planning to your brokerage is a vital skill for every owner, says Moore, regardless of the size or age of the business.
“Business management is an important skill irrespective of where you are on the development cycle, from starting out to running a large and complex group.
“It’s really about moving from treating broking as a technical requirement – to understand credit, etc. – to broking as a business owner. What do you need to do to run an efficient and effective business? We certainly believe that taking a structured, or active business management, approach is a fundamental for all brokers.”
For more essential thought leadership from the big names in the industry, look out for MPA’s forthcoming Business Strategy special report for your complete guide to business success.
