• June 3, 2015
• By Rick Arthur
• In Business success, Five Ps of Business Success
• 2 Comments
• 5

Have you ever watched the CNBC show The Profit with Marcus Lemonis?  I believe all business owners would benefit from watching a few episodes – regardless of your own profit position.

In a nutshell, Marcus Lemonis is a highly successful business entrepreneur that identifies businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a turnaround.  He puts his own money and time into transforming them into successful (i.e. profitable) businesses that make the business owner – and him – lots of money.  So, what is his success formula? Very simply, it’s:  Product + People + Process = Profit.

Let’s take a look at the 4 P’s for success, and the questions you might want to ask yourself as it relates to your business. Then, I’ll add another P that I believe is also necessary.

Product

• Do you know who & where your customer is?
• How is your product positioned?
• Is this product priced to be profitable? Do you know your costs?
• Do you have proof of concept – have you sold sufficient quantities to your market?

People

• What skills and behaviors are required?
• What are the primary job responsibilities for the position?
• What is your hiring process?
• What is fair pay for the position?
• What is your on-boarding and training process?
• Do you hire fast and fire slow? Or, hire slow and fire fast?

Process

• Are your processes efficient and effective?
• Who does what, when and how?
• Do your processes produce optimal quality and quantity?
• How do you measure each process? Do you benchmark?
• Do you expect employees to think or just do it? Is the outcome clear?
• Do your processes maximize time and minimize cost?

If you can identify the right products, hire and train the right people, and give them effective and efficient processes, the end result will always be profit.

Let me add a final P that will ensure the businesses’ success…. and that’s Planning!  Without a clear idea of where you want to go and when you want to get there, your opportunities for success may be fleeting. Planning, specifically, strategic planning will provide you with a roadmap for long-term success.

A good strategic plan will help you prioritize and focus your precious time, giving you the ability to hone your attention on the critical matters involving your products and processes. A good strategic plan will also help you to stay focused on precious resources, including people and cash flow.

With a well thought out plan you can lead your team to new levels of success. And maybe, just maybe, we can find that most elusive of all P’s….Peace!